Beware These Diabetes Tips - Sleep and Glucose Metabolism

And now, my friend, go and take your rest. Sleep. I mean, sleep early - wake early. This is one of the important things I learned since developing type 2 diabetes - it matters

• when you sleep
• how long you sleep, and even
• where you sleep

And all these facets of our sleep affect our ability to metabolize glucose - which is the type of impairment diabetes is, anyway.

There are several studies on sleep and diabetes that really my attention and helped me change my sleep pattern. Some of these findings are quite recent but it is a long-known fact sleep deprivation affects glucose metabolism and can lead to type 2 diabetes.

1. "Role of sleep duration and quality in the risk and severity of type 2 diabetes mellitus," published by the Archives of Internal Medicine, and
   
2. In Biological Research For Nursing, an article published in 2008 echoes the same warning: sleep affects diabetes and diabetes affects sleep.

This sounds like a double-edged sword. You have it either way. That's why your decision to handle type 2 diabetes needs to be an aggressive decision. Don't just settle for pills that simply mask the symptoms. Aim to lose your medication all together.

How sleep works
Our bodies rebuild tissues better at nights - it seems. Our bodies know the difference between night and day, and our metabolism depends on this circadian pattern to function properly. (Read about circadian rhythm in this WiKi article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm)

Researchers say that an hour of sleep before midnight may be twice as beneficial as an hour of sleep after midnight. Instead of challenging their findings, I thought it was reasonable so I did (and have been doing) that, i.e going to bed early - like by 10PM. It works for me.

"But I can't sleep that early!"
That may be so for other people, but I'll make myself do anything in order to NOT have diabetes or other lifestyle-related health problems. After nearly decades of going to bed long after midnight, it was difficult, but I've gotten used to it. Glad I broke the habit.

If you want to lose your diabetes medication and be symptom-free (like me), then seriously consider practicing these simple habits: have the best diet there is, start moving, and go to bed early! Look out for my other tips.