A new study found that missing only 30 minutes of sleep on weekdays might lead to weight gain. According to researchers, it could cause long-term metabolic disruption that possibly encourage or exacerbate type 2 diabetes.

“Our findings suggest that avoiding sleep debt could have positive benefits for waistlines and metabolism, and that incorporating sleep into lifestyle interventions for weight loss and diabetes might improve their success”, said Shahrad Taheri, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha, Qatar.

For the study, about 522 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes were examined by the researchers. The patients were randomly assigned to normal care, physical activity involvement or diet and exercise.

At the beginning of the study, those who were not able get sufficient sleep during the week were 72% more likely as compared with those who get enough sleep to be obese. After six months, it was found by the researchers that the patients were more likely to be overweight and have blood sugar related problems.

The researchers also found that just a half hour of missed sleep on weekdays was more sufficient to cause problems. On Thursday, the study will be presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego. According to Taheri, it was confirmed by previous studies that short sleep period is linked to obesity and diabetes.

The researchers found that just 30 minutes a day sleep debt can have major effects on obesity and insulin resistance at follow up. Taheri said that this supports previous observations that sleep loss is additive and it can also have metabolic consequences. Taheri also said that sleep loss is common in modern society but its metabolic consequences were only realized in last 10 years.