Diabetic and sleep I am affected how about you.

Every night I get tired around 10:00pm and am in bed sleeping by about that time, but I don't stay asleep.  It doesn't seem to matter if I have had a snack before bed or if I have not.  The same thing occurs nightly.  I wake up and can not get to sleep.  It probably happens at least 4 or 5 times throughout the night.

I have been talking to my doctor about the problem of sleeplessness, and I have really been in what you might call a quandary of sorts.  I have been told that not sleeping well can be affecting my blood sugar and at the same time having high blood sugar could be causing my sleeping problems.  Hmm, what do I do?

So after thinking about it for a few days I decided the best thing to do was research it myself and find out why I am going through this and what is really happening to my body.  Here is the information I found and I hope it helps others to understand what is happening to them.

According to Mahowald, the body's reaction to sleep loss can resemble insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. Insulin’s job is to help the body use glucose for energy. In insulin resistance, cells fail to use the hormone efficiently, resulting in high blood sugar. At night when we are supposed to be sleeping if our sugar is high most likely our kidneys are active and trying to get rid of the excess that is in our bodies making us urinate frequently.  This is one source of our sleeping issues.  On the other hand sleeping issues raise our blood sugars so what can we do about these things.
Source:  http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/diabetes-lack-of-sleep

“In general, people with diabetes have to be very careful about sleep because anything that throws off their routine can make them feel a lack of energy and fatigue,” says Zafarlotfi. “The more fatigued they feel, the more their motor is running, and the more likely they are to develop insulin deficiencies.
“Proper sleep is as important as diet for people with diabetes,” she says.
Source:  http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/diabetes-lack-of-sleep?page=2

In some of our cases we may even obtain a problem called sleep Apnea.  If you are Diabetic and overweight this is something that can cause some other severe issues besides just our Diabetes risks increase.  Those problems can be hand in hand with both our sleep Disorder (Apnea), and our Diabetes.

Sleep apnea can prevent a person from getting a good night sleep, which can worsen diabetes or perhaps increase the risk of developing diabetes. In sleep studies, you are monitored while you sleep for sleep disorders such sleep apnea.
Source:  http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/diabetes-lack-of-sleep?page=2

Sleep woes -- not getting enough sleep or poor quality of sleep -- can have serious consequences. "Not having enough good sleep is linked to the major health problems of our time: hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, weight gain, and dementia," Shives says.
Source:  http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/sleepy-all-the-time

There are a many good sources out there that have information on sleep issues and Diabetes.  There are also many articles out there on how you can get better sleep and ways you can manage the stresses that may cause sleep issues.  For us as Diabetics we must learn better ways of keeping our sugar under control.  We need to eat as good as we can and sleep as good as we can so we can stay as healthy as we can.

Its up to each one of us to get informed and share what we know with others who are Diabetic or caretakers of Diabetics.  If you have an idea for a blog or information to share or would like to be a guest blogger, contact me at diabetic.day2013@gmail.com.