How Sleep Affects Blood Sugar Levels

Did you know that sleep deprivation actually creates blood sugar imbalances the next day?

Studies have shown that lack of sleep, even only a couple of hours, can cause the body to create mild insulin resistance. Although these effects are temporary in a healthy individual, chronic sleep deprivationcan lead to pre-diabetic signs and symptoms.

When you are feeling tired as a result of sleep deprivation, your body starts to produce an imbalance in the levels of leptin and ghrelin, two hormones responsible for hunger and satiety. This imbalance between leptin and ghrelin leads to an increase in appetite and people will often reach for that sugary snack not because they are hungry, but more because they are tired. This leads to blood glucose imbalances and if the sleep disturbance is not corrected, an unhealthy eating habit as well.

So what does impaired insulin resistance do to your body? Insulin is responsible for making sure your body knows what to do with the glucose that enters your blood stream after a meal. If your body has insulin resistance, this means that the insulin is not doing its job and bringing the glucose into its appropriate locations. As a result, your blood glucose levels stay elevated and can cause damage to your organs. In addition, you start to gain weight, your cholesterol levels start to elevate and you start to increase your risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Here are some ways that you can improve your sleep and avoid sending your glucose levels into imbalance.

• Black out curtains – any source of light, particularly streetlights outside your window if you’re living in an urban environment, can throw off your sleep-
  wake cycle. Use black out curtains to block out any light and sleep in absolute darkness. Make sure that there are no night-lights or other flashing devices in your bedroom.
• Caffeine before bed – if you are having trouble falling asleep or having poor quality sleep, caffeine may be the culprit. Try not to have your coffee or tea after 12pm on any given day, or reduce the number of cups that you’re having to 1-2 in the morning. Better yet, switch to green tea.
• Alcohol – having a glass of wine with dinner is not going to send you into a spiral of disease and illness. However, take note that alcohol does prevent your body from falling into the deep states of sleep and you will often wake up a few hours after falling asleep. Alcohol is also high in sugar and sometimes a sugar dip will cause you to wake in the middle of the night, craving cheeseburgers.
• Using the bedroom as a workspace. Try to keep your work (stress) and bedroom (relaxation) completely separate. Eastern Medicine practitioners believe that the bedroom should only be used for sleep and sex. So keep your laptops, TV screens and ipads away from the bedroom.
• Eating too close to bedtime – by making sure that you are not stuffing your face for at least 3 hours before you go to bed, you can ensure that your insulin, blood glucose, leptin and ghrelin levels are optimal before falling asleep. This will help to maintain a high quality sleep during the night and maintain blood levels the next day.