Not getting enough sleep could increase the risk of developing diabetes, a new study finds.

The new study adds to a growing body of information linking a lack of sleep to a range of ailments including obesity, metabolic syndrome, mood disorders, cognitive impairment and accidents.

One out of every 10 adults suffers from diabetes and that figure rises to one-in-four for people age 65 and older. By 2050, it’s believed that 33 percent of as many as 33 percent of all Americans may have the metabolic disorder.

University of Colorado researchers conducted an experiment involving 16 healthy men and women. They had half of the participants sleep initially for up to five hours a night, five days a week, to simulate a regular work week. Then they slept for up to nine hours a night for five days. The other half completed the sleep conditions in the opposite order.

Blood tests later showed that those who slept five hours a night had a reduced sensitivity to insulin, which in time could increase the risk of getting diabetes. But when they slept nine hours a night, oral insulin sensitivity returned to normal. Still, it wasn't enough time to restore intravenous insulin sensitivity to baseline levels.

The study, which is published in Current Biology, also found that when someone eats during the time their body clock says they should be sleeping, their ability to regulate their blood sugar in the morning is also impaired.