We are aware that getting enough sleep is crucial for maintaining good physical and mental health as well as for brain functions like memory. It also helps prevent dementia and helps the body stay hydrated.

In March of this year, one study discovered that a lack of sleep is associated with an increase in the fat buildup, particularly harmful abdominal fat in the belly.

This new study helps to show that there can be a lot of other health risks that come from it.

A new study just published shows that people who stay up late, snore, and nap are at higher risk of developing fatty liver disease.

New research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism by the Endocrine Society suggests that people who don’t move much and don’t sleep well could get fatty liver disease.

Approximately one-quarter of the world’s adult population is affected with fatty liver disease, the most common chronic liver condition.

There are many factors that contribute to the development of fatty liver disease such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes. If untreated, fatty liver disease can advance to end-stage liver disease, which is extremely harmful to patients’ health and financially draining for society.

According to Yan Liu, Ph.D., of the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition, and Health and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, “People with poor nighttime sleep and prolonged daytime napping have the highest risk for developing fatty liver disease.” According to the research, a moderate improvement in sleep quality was associated with a 29% reduced risk of fatty liver disease.

The researchers looked at the self-reported sleep habits of 5,011 Chinese adults with fatty liver disease. They found that going to bed late, snoring, and taking naps of more than 30 minutes during the day were all linked to a higher risk of fatty liver disease.

Fatty liver disease risk went down by 29% when sleep quality got a little bit better. Sedentary lifestyles and central adiposity were associated with more pronounced negative consequences of inadequate sleep than were other factors.

In particular, for people who lead unhealthy lifestyles, this “study provides evidence that even a moderate improvement in sleep quality is sufficient to reduce the risk for fatty liver disease,” said Liu.

“Given that large proportions of subjects suffering from poor sleep quality are underdiagnosed and undertreated,” according to the author, “our study calls for more research into this field and strategies to improve sleep quality.”

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