According to research taking regular lunchtime snoozes could increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by as much as 26 %.

In the research is to be presented at Diabetes UK's annual professional conference in Glasgow on Wednesday, the researchers said this could be due to several factors including disturbed night time sleep and reduced physical activity.

A study by a team from the University of Birmingham was conducted of 16,480 older people in China and their sleeping habits were examined. The researchers found that 68 % of the people examined took regular naps and even a nap once a week increased the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The obvious link between the daytime nap and Type 2 diabetes was seen even when other contributing factors, such as the weight of the subjects was taken into account. The researchers have said a reason could be that those who nap during the day tend to have a disturbed sleep at night and short night time sleep duration has been shown to have a link with an increased Type 2 diabetes risk.

The researchers said that waking up from a nap also activates hormones and mechanisms in the body that stop insulin working effectively and this could predispose people to Type 2 diabetes though they added that factors like genetics and being overweight are more significant.

Dr Shahrad Taheri, from the University of Birmingham said, "Our research provides us with an additional insight on the risk factors behind type-2 diabetes.

"As the number of people with type-2 diabetes keeps increasing, it is crucial that we do everything we can to help prevent people from developing the condition."

Type-2 diabetes tends to develop later in life and is more likely in obese people. It is a serious condition that can lead to long-term complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation.

Short-term complications include hypoglycaemic episodes, which can lead to unconsciousness and hospitalisation if left untreated, and persistent high blood glucose levels can be fatal if untreated. In the UK, 2.25 million people have Type 2 diabetes.

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK said, "This new research could be another step towards explaining the possible link between disturbed sleep patterns and type-2 diabetes.

"However, in terms of being major risk factors for developing type-2 diabetes, disturbed sleep or napping are likely to remain less significant than already established risk factors such as being overweight, being over the age of 40 or having a history of diabetes in the family."

The research was conducted by scientists from the University of Birmingham and from Guangzhou Hospital in China.