When you think about preventing or managing diabetes, what do you think of?
Exercising, eating healthy, monitoring your blood sugar — these are well-known ways to prevent or delay diabetes, and keep existing diabetes under control. But something that doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves is improving your sleep.
Problems with sleep, such as difficulty falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, or simply not getting enough of it, and diabetes are deeply connected.
Here is what you need to know about the relationship between sleep and diabetes.
First, You Need to Understand the Blood Glucose Basics
Before understanding the connection between sleep and diabetes, it’s important to know how cells in the body clear glucose from the bloodstream.
Blood glucose (commonly known as “blood sugar”) is the primary sugar in your blood, and it is what your body relies on for energy. When you eat or drink something, your body breaks down the majority of it into glucose. This glucose is then sent throughout your bloodstream.
When glucose levels in your blood increase, your pancreas — a gland in your abdomen — releases insulin, which allows the glucose to move from your bloodstream into your liver, fat and muscle cells. When these cells don’t respond correctly to insulin, that is called insulin resistance. In this situation, the cells do not effectively absorb the glucose from the bloodstream and glucose levels go up. Your pancreas will respond by increasing its insulin production further to try and keep the blood sugars in a healthy range. As long as your pancreas can keep up, the blood sugar will remain in the normal range. But over time, the pancreas can get tired, leading to increased blood sugars and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable — and that’s where factors like sleep come in.
How Sleep Problems Increase Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Sleep problems — particularly lack of sleep and sleep apnea — are known to increase insulin resistance. This is even true for healthy people who have no other risk factors for diabetes.
Poor sleep can also contribute to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes more indirectly. When people don’t get a healthy amount of sleep or good quality sleep, they are more likely to adopt behaviors such as smoking, not getting enough physical activity, having less control overeating habits, and choosing foods that are high in sugar, carbohydrates, and calories.
These behaviors themselves are risk factors for type 2 diabetes, so it’s important to avoid them — but sleep problems can make that difficult.
Also read: “6 Ways You Can Prevent Type 2 Diabetes”
Poor Sleep When You Already Have Diabetes
Whether you have type 1 or type 2, diabetes can make getting quality sleep a challenge for several reasons:
- Frequent urination is a common symptom of uncontrolled diabetes. Constantly waking up to use the bathroom disrupts sleep.
- Nocturnal hypoglycemia (low blood sugar when you’re asleep) can also interrupt sleep and make it difficult to fall back asleep after waking up.
- Diabetic neuropathy is a type of nerve damage caused by diabetes. It can cause pain and sensitivity in your arms, legs, hands, and feet, particularly at night. The sensitivity can be so strong that even a bed sheet can cause pain. This discomfort can stand in the way of quality sleep.
- Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition where your breathing pauses while you’re sleeping. It can make you wake up constantly during the night, even just very briefly — to the point that you don’t even remember it the next day. Obstructive sleep apnea has long been associated with type 2 diabetes, but recent research has shown that people with type 1 are also at an increased risk for having it.
Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a vicious cycle. Poor sleep can make controlling diabetes harder — and at the same time, poorly controlled diabetes can cause symptoms that make getting good quality sleep difficult.
If you are concerned about sleep and diabetes, make an appointment with your primary care provider or endocrinologist.
What You Can Do
Whether you have diabetes, have prediabetes (when your blood sugar is too high, but not enough to be considered diabetes), or you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, overcoming sleep problems is critical for maintaining your health.
In addition to managing your diabetes so that you’re less likely to have symptoms that keep you up at night, there are many ways to improve your chances of getting a good night’s sleep:
- Keep a consistent bedtime routine, including going to bed and waking up at the same time 7 days a week
- Limit caffeine and alcohol, especially later in the day
- Stay physically active during the day
- Avoid using screens in the hour or 2 before bedtime
- Create a healthy sleep environment, such as keeping your bedroom dark and cool
If you’re having difficulty sleeping, make sure to talk to your provider. They can help you get on the right track toward a healthy, diabetes-friendly sleep routine.
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