A Restful Night's Sleep Holds Back Diabetes

Sleep disorders hit about 36% of the American population. Grogginess isn't the only side effect of not getting a good night's rest ~ lack of sleep puts some people at risk for developing diabetes. This can start a vicious circle whereby people with diabetes have a harder time getting a good night's sleep. Many doctors recommend natural ways, such as changing one's sleeping environment and changing bad habits, to get over sleep disorders. When diabetics use these techniques, they often find that they can sleep better and even reduce their diabetes.

Diabetes and sleep disturbances go hand in hand, according to studies by National Institute of Mental Health and American Diabetes Association. Basically, since diabetes changes how your body processes insulin, people with diabetes have metabolisms that aren't well balanced. (To back up, insulin is a hormone that converts starch and sugar into energy.) Awakening un-refreshed from a night's sleep tends to trigger the body to miscalculate how much insulin should be produced. Also, when the body's glucose (sugar) levels are off, the body tends to not respond well to sleep and quality is compromised.

The length of time in bed doesn't affect sleep problems as much as how alert the person feels waking up. According to the National Sleep Foundation most people wake up 12 to 15 times a night on average without even remembering it. The problem with many diabetics is they are awakened by their diabetic conditions. If the cause is from low blood glucose (hypoglycemia), they often experience feelings of hunger. A diabetic who's awakened by high blood glucose often experiences headaches, night sweats or frequent urges to go to the bathroom.

Type II Diabetics can be triggered by poor sleep patterns. With Type II diabetes, the person is predisposed to getting diabetes if exposed to outside factors like depression and inactivity. Many Type II diabetics have a difficult time initially getting to sleep or wake up early with too little energy. This type of diabetic's sleep patterns can be restructured and in time help a person eliminate Type II diabetes.

Some natural ways that a diabetic can get a restful night's sleep are as follows:

* Turn the TV and lights off before getting into bed. Distractions stimulate a person into staying awake, not lulling them to sleep. * Avoid stimulants before bedtime. Cut back on caffeine, alcohol and smoking during the day. Along that line, a tolerance to sleeping pills and other prescriptions might actually hurt your ability to get to sleep rather than keeping you asleep. * Make your bed during the day and only go between the sheets at bedtime. Use your bed just for sleeping and not a place to eat or read. * Get a lot of movement during the day like walking about 30 minutes each day to help your body recognize rest time. Another benefit of exercise is weight loss. Overweight and lack of activity are some of the largest culprits behind Type II Diabetes. * Allow your muscles to relax by showering right before bedtime. If daytime worries are keeping you awake, give yourself permission to engage in a 10 to 20 minute "worry session" before you go to bed and then decide to let the worries wait until you get out of bed the next morning.

Remember, the quality of sleep is far more important than the quantity of sleep each night, especially for diabetics. Many sleep disorders and diabetic conditions can be overcome if the diabetic takes the measures to set a more friendly and cozy sleep environment.