Relation between Diabetes and Sleeplessness

Posted on June 24, 2008 in Latest News

Researchers from the University of Chicago are carrying out studies which appear to direct at a new risk factor for diabetes: sleeping problems. Researchers carried out their theory on a group of healthy young adults using a controlled sleep laboratory.

For three consecutive nights, the volunteers were prevented from achieving g a proper night’s sleep and were made to stay in the lab. Afterwards, it was discovered that the volunteers were not processing insulin as efficiently as they used to before the study commenced. This decrease in the body’s ability to process sugar was compared by the researchers to the effects of an individual putting on 20 to 30 pounds.

Lack of sleep cannot however directly cause uncontrolled diabetes. But depression (which is more common in diabetics) can both cause lack of sleep and contribute to poor control of diabetes.

Multiple factors may lead to sleep complaints in those with diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, rapid changes in glucose levels during sleep have been postulated to cause awakenings.[4] For individuals with type 2 diabetes, sleep disturbances may be linked to obesity or obesity-related sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea.

A common source of disturbed sleep in diabetics is discomfort or pain associated with peripheral neuropathy. Patients with diabetes, particularly those with peripheral neuropathy, have restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movements that can cause sleep-onset and maintenance insomnia.

Successful management of sleep disorders often requires a multifaceted approach that not only provides relief of symptoms, but also treatment of the common co morbid conditions. For patients with diabetes who also have obstructive sleep apnea, medical management includes weight loss, identification and treatment of anatomic and functional upper airway obstruction, and nasal continuous positive airway pressure.

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