{
  "id": 18153712,
  "title": "Earlier sleep tied to weight loss in people with prediabetes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/earlier-sleep-tied-to-weight-loss-in-people-with-prediabetes",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-11-04T17:33:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Futurity",
    "slug": "futurity",
    "url": "https://www.futurity.org/earlier-bedtime-weight-loss-prediabetes-3352242/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Adding sleep coaching to a diabetes prevention program helped people with prediabetes sleep better, feel less sleepy, and lose weight, according to a randomized controlled trial published in Nursing Research. However, the additional sleep coaching did not affect blood sugar levels. Susan Kohl Malone, assistant professor at New York University's Rory Meyers College of Nursing, suggests that when people fall asleep, not just how long they sleep, plays an important role in weight loss and metabolic health. Studies link poor sleep, such as getting less than seven hours, going to bed late, or having irregular sleep patterns, to weight gain and poor blood sugar control. Insufficient sleep raises stress hormones like cortisol, promoting insulin resistance and shifting appetite hormones to increase hunger and food intake. Going to sleep late can also lead to late-night eating, which occurs when insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance are at their lowest. The study involved 196 adults with prediabetes who slept less than 6.5 hours per night. Participants were randomly assigned to either an eight-week lifestyle program or the lifestyle program plus a sleep component. Both groups received weekly video calls to learn about healthy eating, physical activity, and stress management. Those in the sleep-focused group received sessions on sleep hygiene, retraining the brain to associate the bed with sleep, and a plan to gradually shift their bedtime earlier to increase total sleep time. Daily sleep diaries and continuous glucose monitors and wrist monitors tracked sleep. Neither program changed glucose levels, but both groups saw improvements in sleep quality and weight loss. Participants of the sleep-focused group had greater improvements in self-reported sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, and their sleep timing shifted earlier. Each additional hour earlier participants fell asleep was associated with about 1.3 pounds of weight loss over eight weeks. While the researchers expected extending sleep to improve glucose levels and weight loss, the study found that falling asleep earlier, independent of sleep duration, could be a promising target for improving metabolic health.",
  "summary": "\"When we fall asleep—not just how much we sleep—seems to be an important and overlooked factor for weight loss and metabolic health.\"",
  "key_points": [
    "People with prediabetes improved sleep quality and daytime sleepiness with sleep coaching.",
    "Sleep timing, not just duration, associated with 1.3 pounds weight loss per extra hour earlier.",
    "Sleep coaching added to diabetes prevention program, not affecting blood sugar levels."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}