Melatonin signaling is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes

A sleeping pancreas releases less insulin, but how much insulin drops each night may differ from person to person, suggests a new study. Up to 30 percent of the population may be predisposed to have a pancreas that’s more sensitive to the insulin-inhibiting effects of melatonin. People with this increased sensitivity carry a slightly altered melatonin receptor gene that is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes.