News Plus慢速英语:全面两孩或让精子库更缺货 缺乏睡眠增糖尿病风险

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China's sperm banks are already facing a shortage of donors, and the government proposal to end the country's decades-old family planning policy may put more pressure on the institutions.
The Communist Party of China Central Committee proposed the scrapping of the current policy in late October in order to balance population growth and offset the burden of an aging population.
According to a report carried by Jiangxi Daily, a growing number of couples with fertility problems have visited local hospitals and sperm banks for consultations since the policy was announced.
China introduced its family planning policy in the late 1970s to rein in population growth by limiting most urban couples to one child and most rural couples to two, allowing the birth of a second child if the first was a girl.

This is NEWS Plus Special English.
A lack of sleep may increase the risk of diabetes, by reducing the human body's sensitivity to blood-sugar-regulating insulin.
A U.S. study has added to a growing amount of information linking insufficient sleep to a range of ailments including obesity, metabolic syndrome, mood disorders, cognitive impairment and accidents.
The study found that when people get too little sleep, it leaves them awake at a time when their body clock is telling them they should be asleep. And when they eat, it impairs their ability to regulate their blood sugar levels.
The researchers explained that humans have a clock in the brain which forms a 24-hour pattern in their physiology and behavior. The clock also controls melatonin, a hormone which signals the human body whether it is daytime or night time.
But when someone eats during bedtime instead of going sleep, his or her body has to work harder and produce more insulin to keep blood sugar levels normal. This will harm people's health in the long term.
The researchers say their next step is to study whether improving the sleep of older people could improve their metabolic health.

This is NEWS Plus Special English.
In related news, a new study has found that home-cooked meals make people healthier than eating out, and reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
The U.S. study reveals that those who ate at least two homemade meals each day, had a 13 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, compared to those who ate less homemade dinners.
The study was presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.
The findings were based on data from almost 58,000 women who took part in a national nurse health study and more than 41,000 men in another study of male health professionals followed for up to 36 years.
Accumulating studies have suggested that eating out, especially in fast food chain restaurants, is associated with lower diet quality and higher body weight in children and young adults.
In the current study, the researchers demonstrated that eating homemade meals was associated with less weight gain over eight years in these middle-aged and older health professionals.