If you get less than 7 hours of sleep per night regularly, your diabetes will be harder to manage. Too little sleep can: Increase insulin resistance.
“Cortisol increases insulin resistance and increases blood sugar levels,” Dr. Faiman says. On the other hand, too much sleep may also pose health dangers for people with type 2 diabetes.
Although it sounds contradictory, sleep can both raise and lower glucose levels. Our bodies experience a cycle of changes every day—called a circadian rhythm—which naturally raises blood sugar levels at night and when a person sleeps. These natural blood sugar elevations are not a cause for concern.
A: Yes. Multiple studies have shown that repeated awakenings during the night, insufficient sleep, excessive sleep, and irregular sleep all promote glucose intolerance. Furthermore, if a person has prediabetes or diabetes, poor sleep will worsen the condition.
Changes in blood sugar can cause rapid changes in mood and other mental symptoms such as fatigue, trouble thinking clearly, and anxiety. Having diabetes can cause a condition called diabetes distress which shares some traits of stress, depression and anxiety.
People with diabetes are 2 to 3 times more likely to have depression than people without diabetes. Only 25% to 50% of people with diabetes who have depression get diagnosed and treated. But treatment—therapy, medicine, or both—is usually very effective. And without treatment, depression often gets worse, not better.
According to Laura Hieronymus, MD, vice president of health care programs at the American Diabetes Association, “Fatigue is a symptom of hyperglycemia (high blood glucose). When blood glucose levels are too high, the body is not processing glucose as energy; therefore, tiredness or fatigue may occur.”
People with diabetes should eat dinner between 8 and 9 pm. Eating close to bedtime or late at night must be avoided.
Many people with diabetes will describe themselves as feeling tired, lethargic or fatigued at times. It could be a result of stress, hard work or a lack of a decent night's sleep but it could also be related to having too high or too low blood glucose levels.
The dawn phenomenon is an early-morning rise in blood sugar, also called blood glucose, in people with diabetes. The dawn phenomenon leads to high levels of blood sugar, a condition called hyperglycemia. It usually happens between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m.
While fasting blood glucose could still be in the normal range, it is taking increasing amounts of insulin to keep it there. As insulin resistance develops, and insulin becomes increasingly ineffective to bring blood sugars down, blood sugars will eventually rise too high.
Cells use insulin to absorb glucose from the blood and can then use this for energy. In people with diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or the body does not use insulin effectively. This causes excess glucose in the blood. Fatigue and weakness may result when the cells do not get enough glucose.
What should your blood sugar be when you wake up? Whenever possible, aim to keep your glucose levels in range between 70 and 130 mg/dL in the morning before you eat breakfast, and between 70 and 180 mg/dL at other times.
If you have type 2 diabetes breakfast cereals made with wholegrains can help to manage blood glucose levels, they release glucose more slowly as they are low GI. Weetabix, Oatibix and Shredded Wheat can make for good choices.
For most people with diabetes, mealtimes should space out through the day like this: Have breakfast within an hour and half of waking up. Eat a meal every 4 to 5 hours after that.
The dawn phenomenon
But if you have diabetes, you may not make enough insulin or may be too insulin resistant to counter the increase in blood glucose. As a result, your levels may be elevated when you wake up. The dawn phenomenon does not discriminate between types of diabetes.
In people with diabetes, insufficient insulin prevents the body from getting glucose from the blood into the body's cells to use as energy. When this occurs, the body starts burning fat and muscle for energy, causing a reduction in overall body weight.
Among diabetic, higher blood glucose, or hyperglycemia, has historically been associated with anger or sadness, while blood sugar dips, or hypoglycemia, has been associated with nervousness. Persons with diabetes are not the only ones vulnerable to mood disturbances as a result of blood sugar fluctuations.
These can include loss of interest in typical activities, feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and unexplained physical problems such as back pain or headaches. If you think you might be depressed, seek help right away. Your health care provider or diabetes educator can help you find a mental health provider. M.
What is diabetes burnout? Feeling burnout because of diabetes can be different for everyone, but it can mean you stop taking care of yourself and your diabetes. For some people, this means skipping insulin doses or not taking your tablets. Some describe it as hitting a wall or giving up.