Losing just half an hour of sleep 'can impact body weight and metabolism researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha, Qatar, recruited 522 patients who had been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. At the start of the study, the participants' height, weight and waist circumference were measured and samples of their blood were analyzed for insulin sensitivity. The participants were required to keep sleep diaries, from which their weekday sleep debt was calculated. The participants at the start of the study who had weekday sleep debt were found to be 72% more likely to be obese, compared with participants who had no weekday sleep debt. By follow-up at 6 months, the association between weekday sleep debt and obesity and insulin resistance was found to be significant. At 12-month follow-up, the researchers calculated that for every 30 minutes of weekday sleep debt there was an associated 17% increased risk of obesity and 39% increased risk of insulin resistance. Therefore, losing just half an hour of sleep can have long-term consequences for body weight and metabolism in case of avoid sleep debt could have positive benefits for waistlines and metabolism and that incorporating sleep into lifestyle interventions for weight loss and diabetes might improve success.