Diabetes and sleep

Many benefits may be gained from a sufficient amount of sleep. Many complications may arise from having diabetes. Discover the role sleep plays in the control of your diabetes.

The ability to get a decent night’s sleep is a privilege. It’s common for people to go to bed later than they’d like because they’re trying to juggle too many things at once, such as school, job, exercise, and family. One-third of individuals in the United States are chronically sleep-deprived, which has been linked to an increase in the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression.

Not getting enough sleep has detrimental effects on all aspects of diabetes treatment, including food intake: insulin sensitivity, state of mind, and the foods you choose to consume.

A well-maintained home may do wonders for your attitude and energy levels in addition to helping you better control your diabetes.

Just how much sleep do you require?

In order to maintain excellent health, getting enough sleep is crucial at any age. The optimal amount of sleep you need shifts as you become older. It has been suggested that individuals need at least 7 hours of sleep every night by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. Youths and younger children need more.

Neglecting Your Sleep May Have Consequences

Your diabetes will be more difficult to control if you consistently obtain fewer than 7 hours of sleep every night.

Lack of sleep may:

• Decrease insulin resistance.
• Cause you feel less full after eating and hungry the next day.
• Cause you to want unhealthy, high-carb, high-sugar meals.
• Increase the difficulty of losing weight
• Cause a spike in blood pressure and a significant increase in the probability of cardiac arrest.
• Decrease your body’s resistance to illness.
• Raise the odds of experiencing emotional distress.

The Best Ways to Sleep More

Sleep Well.

You should focus less on the quantity and more on the quality of your sleep. Some indicators of poor sleep quality include:

• After getting enough shut-eye, you still don’t feel refreshed.
• Maintaining a pattern of waking up many times over the night.
• Experiencing sleep disorder symptoms (such as snoring or gasping for air).

Night owls are typical, as are those who rise early throughout the week but sleep in on the weekends.

Although it would be nice to make up for lost time, your brain cannot benefit from the additional sleep.

Making sure you receive adequate quality sleep on a constant basis requires maintaining a regular sleep schedule (waking up and going to bed at around the same time each day, including on weekends).

You may benefit from the following suggestions:

• Maintain a calm and restful atmosphere in your bedroom by keeping the lights off and the temperature down. The optimal temperature for sleeping, according to experts, is 65 degrees.
• Get the TV, computer, and phone out of bed.
• Try to get some exercise into your day.
• Before turning in for the night, let your mind decompress.
• Set a regimen that helps you wind down before night, such as a pre-shower shower, light reading, or journaling.
• Just go to sleep when you feel like it.

Furthermore, here are some things to keep in mind to avoid:

• Caffeine in the late afternoon and evening. The effects might last for as long as 8 hours.
• When consumed in the evening, alcohol might disrupt sleep breathing. It may also disrupt your sleep and make it less restful.
• Dinners that go till the wee hours of the morning. In addition to raising overnight blood sugar and bloating, eating late at night is also associated with gastrointestinal distress.
• It’s OK to nap after 2 o’clock. Because of this, you may feel less exhausted when it’s time for bed.
• Nicotine has similar effects as caffeine.

Get in touch with your doctor if you’re still having trouble sleeping.

FAQ

• Does diabetes impact your ability to get to sleep?

To compensate for elevated blood sugar, the kidneys increase the frequency of urination. In the middle of the night, you get up to go to the toilet, which disrupts your sleep. Sleep problems are yet another side effect of high blood sugar, headaches, thirst, and fatigue.

• Why do diabetics wake up in the middle of the night?

Nocturnal hypoglycemia occurs when a person’s blood glucose level drops below 70 mg/dl while they sleep. According to studies, almost half of all bouts of low blood glucose, including more than half of all severe episodes, are thought to occur at night when people are sleeping.

• What happens if a diabetic sleeps too much?

Besides hemoglobin A1c, sleep duration was shown to be associated with additional diabetes risk variables. For instance, those who slept for more than 8 hours each night tended to have higher fasting blood sugar levels.

• What can diabetics take to help them sleep?

According to anecdotal information gathered from several diabetic message boards, melatonin and antihistamines are the most often used treatments for sleeplessness. You won’t be so knocked out by these drugs that you won’t wake up in an emergency or from low blood sugar if you take them as directed.

• Why do diabetics wake up at 3 am?

A person with diabetes won’t see an increase in insulin production to counteract the spike in blood sugar levels that occurs first thing in the morning. The name “dawn phenomena” comes from the fact that it often occurs between 3 and 8 in the morning. Almost all diabetics experience the dawn effect at some point.

• Is napping healthy for people with diabetes?

The chance of getting type 2 diabetes is increased by taking naps throughout the day. Also, research seems to show that the capacity of people with type 2 diabetes to regulate their blood sugar is influenced by short and lengthy sleep duration and midday naps.

• Does sleep affect your A1C?

People who reported sleeping less than 5 hours per night or more than 8 hours per night had significantly higher levels of hemoglobin ATC in their blood, indicative of poor blood sugar control over the previous 2–3 months, compared to those who reported sleeping the recommended 7–8 hours per night on the questionnaires.

• Why do diabetics wake up tired?

Both high and low blood sugar levels are major causes of fatigue. Fatigue may occur from either an inadequate quantity of circulating insulin or an excessive amount of blood glucose.

• Why does a diabetic get sleepy after eating?

Feeling sleepy after eating may be a sign of hypoglycemia in people with prediabetes, Type 1, or Type 2 diabetes. Consuming an excessive amount of sugar might lead to hyperglycemia.

• Can high blood sugar levels be caused by not getting enough sleep?

Repeated nighttime awakenings, inadequate sleep, excessive sleep, and irregular sleep schedules have all been linked to an increased risk of developing glucose intolerance in a variety of studies. If a person has prediabetes or diabetes, they will have a more challenging time getting a good night’s rest.

• Do people with diabetes tire easily?

Research shows that persons with type 2 diabetes often struggle with acute weariness, making daily tasks difficult. It has such a profound effect that medical professionals often talk about “diabetes weariness.”

• How can one get over the exhaustion brought on by diabetes?

A few pointers are as follows:

• You should get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep nightly.
• Consistent physical activity is highly recommended.
• Cut off all the sugary and processed meals.
• If you’re an alcoholic, cut back.
• Caffeine is OK, but only in moderation.
• Instead of stressing out, try yoga or meditation.

• Why does my blood sugar go so high when I sleep?

Too little insulin with supper or a substantial meal or snack before bed may lead to overnight highs in blood sugar. Changing your diet or the timing of your medications would be beneficial. If your numbers seem OK before night, then you’re taking too little medicine.

• What is the recommended amount of sleep time for someone with high blood sugar or diabetes?

Your blood sugar will be more difficult to control if you consistently obtain fewer than 7 hours of sleep every night.