Diabetes and sleep dysfunction can become a destructive cycle. One of the lesser known symptoms of prediabetes is being unable to sleep even six hours. And for type 2 diabetics the nerve pain and paresthesias we experience sometimes make it hard to sleep through the night.
What That Means To a Type 2 Diabetic
If diabetes and sleep dysfunction are connected, you need to find the causes of your sleep disturbance and what you can do about them. You don't have to resort to sleep medications, which have their own side effects and limitations. Many of the things suggested below came directly from sleep doctors, and they have worked.
Some Reasons Diabetes and Sleep Dysfunction Go Together
High blood sugar from worsening insulin resistance has been linked to the symptom of shortened sleep hours. That has led to the addition of short sleep time to the warning signs of prediabetes.
High and low blood sugars in type 2 diabetics disturb sleep. Grogginess after what should be more than sufficient sleep, and wakefulness at bedtime are two of the symptoms that often plague us if blood sugars are too high.
And low blood sugar pulls you out of sleep with sweating, shakes, anxiety attacks and blurred vision. Treating the low blood sugar and staying up to make sure the hypoglycemia does not return can mean an hour awake in the middle of the night.
Then there are the foot pains, muscle cramps from diuretics and neuropathy, and tingling and aching in hands and feet from diabetic paresthesias. These symptoms of diabetes make it hard to go to sleep and stay asleep.
Women who are type 2 diabetics and are going through menopause often have twice the problems with diabetes and sleep disturbance. Menopause changes already cause hot flashes and restless sleep, and if you add diabetic complications you have double trouble.
Blood sugar is harder to control in a type 2 diabetic who is not sleeping well. Lack of sleep adds stress, and chronic stress worsens the diabetic complications. In turn, diabetic complications worsen sleep, which worsens stress, and the cycle continues.
Breaking the Cycle of Diabetes and Sleep Dysfunction
Here are three natural substances that are known to promote sleep: melatonin, tryptophan and magnesium. Eating magnesium rich foods like almonds, seeds and whole grain snacks before bed can improve the quality of sleep.
Tryptophan is the enzyme in turkey that makes everyone sleepy after Thanksgiving Dinner. It is also found in watercress, soy protein, uncooked spinach, many seeds, and egg whites (in powdered form as well as raw).
Taking melatonin as a medication can be problematic, and it can't be done over a long period of time. Your body makes melatonin, and there is a way to boost its production. When you get up in the morning, simply expose yourself to sunlight for a few minutes.
Exercise Helps Both Diabetes and Sleep Dysfunction
One great way to get morning sunshine is to go for a walk outside. It will set your biological clock by the release of serotonin, the hormone that works with melatonin to signal your wake and sleep cycle. Melatonin release at night will be reinforced by simply adding a dose of sunshine when you wake up.
Add to that the benefit of exercise and you've done two things that will help you sleep better at night. Yes, exercise during the day helps you sleep at night. But confine vigorous exercise to at least two hours before bedtime.
The best kind of exercise to do near bedtime is stretching, deep breathing, meditative styles. They give you time to wind down before you try to sleep. There are websites that teach gentle yoga and progressive muscle relaxation techniques.
More Suggestions
Add a warm bath to your bedtime ritual. And if you watch TV in bed, quit. People who stop this habit improve their sleep almost immediately. Try aromatherapy with lavender next to the bed or under your pillow. It has been proven to aid onset and depth of sleep.
Try istening to calm and gentle music. Some people drink chamomile tea at night for its calming effect on their digestive system, but it's an herb that some are allergic to, so be sure you are not one of them before you try it.
Speaking of digestion, don't try to sleep right after a large or rich meal. Wait a little while before lying down. And don't use alcoholic drinks right before bed. Alcohol may relax you, but it disturbs sleep a few hours later when it leaves your brain, and that's something you don't want.
If you suffer from hot flashes and/or sweating at night, there's a pillow insert called a Chillow that helps keep your head cool. And if neuropathic discomfort wakes you, the over the counter anti-inflammatories like aspirin and ibuprofen can reduce foot and leg pain caused by diabetic complications.
Of course, if none of these things work for you, your doctor can offer you sleep, stress and pain medications by prescription. If you need them to help you break the cycle of diabetes and sleep dysfunction, and you are working to end insulin resistance and high blood sugar, you won't need medications forever.
Whatever helps you get on with the things that matter to you is what you need to do. It's your diabetic journey, and I wish you well.
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