• Participants with irregular sleep patterns (where day-to-day sleep duration varied by more than 60 minutes) had a 34% higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared to those with regular sleep.

• Even after accounting for lifestyle, comorbidities, family history, and obesity indicators, the risk persisted, emphasising on the point that consistent sleep patterns are crucial for reducing diabetes risk.

• The study discovered a nonlinear connection (p nonlinearity 0.0002), with a 34% higher incidence of diabetes (95% CI 1.22, 1.47) in those whose sleep length SD was >60 min as opposed to ≤60 min.

• The within-person standard deviation of the 7-day sleep duration recorded by wrist-worn accelerometers was used to quantify the variability in sleep lengths.

• Those with greater sleep duration (P interaction < 0.0009) and a lower diabetes polygenic risk score (PRS; P interaction ≤ 0.0264) showed a stronger connection irrespective of genetic predisposition.

• The study identified consistent sleep as a strategy to lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, and it can help mitigate risks like reducing swings in hormones, including cortisol, which affect blood sugar levels.

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