People who have trouble sleeping are six times more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease, a study of 20,000 people has suggested.

The latest findings, published in Nature Genetics, revealed that a faulty protein known as MT2, may disrupt the link between our 24 hour rhythms and release of the hormone insulin, leading to abnormal control of blood sugar which, as a result, may lead to type two diabetes.

Research showed that after three days of disrupted sleep, participants in the study started showing symptoms of diabetes, the Daily Mail reports.

“Blood sugar control is one of the many processes regulated by the body’s biological clock,” Professor Philippe Froguel, of Imperial College London, said. “This study adds to our understanding of how the gene that carries the blueprint for a key component in the clock can influence people’s risk of diabetes.”

“We found very rare variants of the MT2 gene that have a much larger effect than more common variants discovered before. Although each mutation is rare, they are common in the sense that everyone has a lot of very rare mutations in their DNA. Cataloguing these mutations will enable us to much more accurately assess a person’s risk of disease based on their genetics.”

Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said: “Genetic studies like this one are useful as they can help us understand how a person’s genetic makeup can influence their risk of developing type two diabetes.”

“What we can be sure of now is that eating a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight and being more physically active can help to reduce the risk of developing type two diabetes as well as help people with the condition to manage it more effectively and lower the likelihood of developing serious complications.”

Aside from a risk of diabetes, other health risks associated with lack of sleep include:

• putting on weight unnecessarily, because a lack of sleep eliminates the hormone in your body that regulates appetite
• an increase in cortisol, which slows the production of collagen meaning you wrinkle faster
• increased chance of a heart attack by 100 per cent because your heart works overtime
• a decline in IQ for each successive day you sleep badly

In a 2010 survey by Recourse and Teacher Support Network, many staff revealed that their sleep pattern suffered as a result of stress and anxiety in the workplace. Others blamed workload for their lack of sleep leading to poor health, a loss in concentration and a bad temper.

“I work a 90 hour week. I don’t have time to sleep. Staff are depressed and I am always criticised for not doing enough. I have seen my family grow up without me,” one respondent stated.

Another commented: “Extreme lack of sleep since September has greatly affected my health. I have had little time for family, friends or a relationship. I feel rather miserable about the situation, but see no alternative, other than to get through the year and hope for better in the summer. Tiredness has resulted in me becoming short-tempered and resentful for the job.”

If you believe lack of sleep has affected your health and wellbeing and you need somebody to talk to, call our free, confidential Support Line on: 0808 802 03 04.

Alternatively, try these links:

• Problem sleeping
• How to sleep well
• Relaxation techniques

by Victoria Bamber

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By Olivia Bamber

Scientists from the University of California in Berkeley have claimed that gossip can be good for individuals and wider society. In a series of detailed experiments they found that people are more likely to engage in gossip if they are helping to control bad behaviour, prevent someone from being exploited and that gossip can even lower stress the Daily Mail reported.

The study which focused on chatter known as ‘pro-social’ gossip involved people cheating at games. In the first experiment volunteers were hooked up to heart rate monitors as they checked the scores of two people playing a card game. After a couple of rounds, they could see that one player was cheating. Those participants who noticed experienced a spike in their heart rates, but when they sent notes to others about the cheating, their heart rates dropped.

“Passing on the gossip note ameliorated their negative feelings and tempered their frustration. When we observe someone behave in an immoral way, we get frustrated. Gossiping made them feel better,” said Robb Willer, a Social Psychologist and Co-author of the study. “Gossip gets a bad rap but we’re finding evidence that it plays a critical role in the maintenance of social order.”

In the second experiment, 111 volunteers filled out questionnaires about their level of altruism and cooperativeness. They then observed monitors showing the scores from three rounds of card games, and saw that one player was cheating.

The more ‘pro-social’ observers reported feeling frustrated by the betrayal and then relieved to be given a chance to pass a note to the next player to prevent them being exploited.

In observing the results Matthew Feinberg, a Social Psychologist and Lead Author of the paper said “a central reason for engaging in gossip was to help others out – more so than just to talk trash about the selfish individual”.

“Also, the higher participants scored on being altruistic, the more likely they were to experience negative emotions after witnessing the selfish behavior and the more likely they were to engage in the gossip. We shouldn’t feel guilty for gossiping if the gossip helps prevent others from being taken advantage of.”

Dr Laura Davies, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, said the UC Berkeley study focused on a specific kind of gossip that many people don’t consider gossip.

Whilst acknowledging that conducting a real-life gossip experiment would be challenging, she still claims “the scenarios the researchers used didn’t fairly represent gossip and the complex dynamics between ’selfish’ and ‘altruistic’ people. “This study is incredibly limited and purports to answer a lot more than it actually does and should be taken with a huge grain of salt,” said Dr Davies

How do you deal with stress? Tell us your tips on Twitter @RecourseCharity.

For more help and advice on dealing with stress you may find the following links useful.

• Stress
• Managing stress in the workplace
• Online Stress Test Tool

by Lucy Rowe

A new book, The World Book of Happiness by Leo Bormans has drawn together research and discoveries of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of happiness. In the book Mr Bormans uses evidence based material that aims to unlock the secrets of happy people the Daily Mail reports.

“Happiness can be learned, but finding meaning and a purpose in life is what leads to it, not the other way around”, says Mr Bormans. The happiest people appreciate and realise that being happy adds years to their life, and life to their years”.

The book goes on to claim that research has shown that happy people have modest levels of expectation and aspirations, know how to avoid disappointments and how to generate pleasant surprises, while unhappy people never seem to get what they want.

“We spend a lot of time complaining about the things that happen to us, but this is a waste of time and effort. To be happy, we need to enjoy what we have,” says Dr Jose de Jesus Garcia Vega, of the University of Monterrey, Mexico.

“Happy people do what they enjoy and enjoy what they do. There’s no point being stuck in a job you hate, surrounded by unfriendly colleagues just because the money is good, people forget that they are allowed to be happy at work, too”.

Ingrida Geciene of Vilnius University, Lithuania, whose research was featured in the book found that ‘voluntarists’ (people who feel they have free choice and complete control over their life) were happier than fatalists (people who think little can be changed by personal intervention).

Miriam Akhtar, one of the first positive psychologists in the UK who was featured in the book claims “we need to switch from a negative, glass-half-empty outlook to a glass-half-full and put optimism into practice to be happiest. Optimism is the mind’s natural self-defence mechanism against depression.”

Other advice found in the book includes:

• Live for today
  Don’t dwell on the past, on things that went wrong or previous failures. Similarly, don’t dream about an idealised future that doesn’t exist or worry about what hasn’t happened yet.
• Choose happiness
  Don’t be afraid to step back and re-evaluate your goals. Imagine your life as a story that you can edit and revise as you go along. This kind of flexible approach requires positive thinking and an open mind – you need to actively choose to be happy.
• Relationships
  We get our happiness from other people, and from supporting other people. Remember that just as other people can make us happy, we are all ‘other people’ to someone else.
• Stay busy
  If you want to be happier, develop an outgoing, social personality – accept that drinks invitation, join the walking club, book group or choir.
• Don’t compare
  Ambition is healthy and makes people happy, explains Claudia Senik, a professor at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, but envy makes them unhappy. Yet comparisons with others can spoil the benefits of ambition and are only useful if you learn something from them. Focus on your goals and dreams so you can enjoy your ambition and achievements.
• Be yourself
  Happy people are spontaneous, natural and real; they say what they think and feel, and aren’t concerned what others think of them. Being oneself makes one feel free and authentic.
• Stop worrying
  Don’t take yourself too seriously. Happy people don’t worry and they recognise that 90 per cent of worries never come true.
• Get organised
  You might envy those laid-back bohemian types who just do things on the spur of the moment, but don’t be fooled. Happy people plan and organise, they have goals and a purpose.
• Think positive
  Bottling up emotions and bad feelings creates psychological distress and physical discomfort. Happy people get things off their chest, their motto is: get rid of it, or it will get rid of you. Similarly, work at developing optimistic thinking; happy people always look on the bright side.

To read about the 50 things that make us happy click here.

How do you keep happy? Tell us your tips and advice for tutors and lecturers in the comments box below.

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by Lucy Rowe