Many type 2 diabetics need to wake up several times a night in order to urinate. I know I do… at least once, sometimes twice, occasionally three times, one night.
This of course interrupts a good night’s sleep.
The resulting loss of sleep can cause a variety of medical disorders. In fact, it can exacerbate the risks of diseases such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, neuropathy, blindness, etc., which are the burden of being diabetic.
Medical disorders caused by loss of sleep.
You probably know that after a bad night’s sleep, you’ll wake up groggy and grouchy.
But did you know that lack of sleep can impair your judgment, mess up your memory, and wreak havoc on your overall health, sex life, and good looks?
Here are six broad categories of disorders caused by lack of sleep:
[1] Serious physical health problems.…can be caused by persistent sleep loss.
These disorders include heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. As a diabetic, your risk of developing these serious medical conditions is further increased when your sleep is consistently interrupted night after night.
[2] impaired cognitive processes… are another consequence of lack of sleep. For example, sleep is crucial to give your brain space to sort and consolidate your experiences and memories of the day.
French and American researchers discovered that brain events called “sharp waves” are responsible for consolidating memory. These waves also transfer stored information from temporary memories (in the hippocampus) to long-term memory storage (in the neocortex).
The sharp wave waves occur mainly during deep sleep. So if you don’t get enough sleep, you are likely to forget what you experienced or learned in the previous 24 hours.
But that is not all. Lack of sleep affects alertness, attention, concentration, reasoning, and problem-solving skills, which also impairs learning and memory.
[3] accidents… are more frequent with people who are sleepy.
The basic reason seems to be that, in addition to impaired cognitive abilities, lack of sleep causes blurred vision and, as a whole, leads to poor judgment and decision-making.
In one study, workers who complained of excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly more accidents at work, and repeat accidents in particular, compared to their newly awakened colleagues.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated that fatigue is a contributing factor in 100,000 accidents and more than 1,500 road deaths each year in the United States.
Lack of sleep was a factor in some of the greatest industrial disasters of the 20th century…such as the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979…the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986…and the crude oil spill in Exxon Valdez in 1989, which created one of the worst human-caused environmental disasters ever.
[4] your sex drive…can die from lack of sleep.
Men and women who have been sleep deprived often report that they have a lower libido and less interest in sex than before, according to sleep specialists.
Men who suffer from sleep apnea, pauses in breathing while they sleep, secrete abnormally low levels of testosterone (the main male sex hormone) at night, which may explain why these men have reduced sex drive.
But until now, scientists have been unable to explain why lack of sleep reduces sexual desire in other men and women.
[5] aged looking skin…skin that lacks elasticity and smoothness, and dark circles…can be caused by lack of sleep.
There are two reasons for this:
First, when you don’t get enough sleep, your body releases more and more cortisol, the stress hormone. But too much cortisol can break down collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth and supple.
Second, lack of sleep reduces the release of human growth hormone. When we are young, HGH helps us grow. As we age, it is involved in increasing our muscle mass (which decreases as we age), keeping our skin thick and supple, and strengthening our bones.
HGH is released during deep sleep, as part of normal tissue repair. If we don’t repair the usual wear and tear of the day when we sleep, we’ll soon start to look old. Unfortunately, the loss of sleep interrupts the release of HGH.
[6] weight gain…is another serious side effect of sleep loss, especially if you’re diabetic and need to lose weight to beat your diabetes.
People who sleep less than six hours a night are almost 30% more likely to become obese compared to those who sleep seven to nine hours, according to a study published in 2004. This suggests that there is a link between lack of sleepiness and an increase in appetite.
Here is the explanation:
ghrelinthe “hunger” hormone, stimulates the appetite while leptin, the “satiety” hormone, suppresses appetite. Recent research indicates that sleep loss is associated with increases in ghrelin and decreases in leptin.
But sleep loss doesn’t just stimulate your appetiteā¦it also stimulates cravings for foods high in fat and carbohydrates.
Diabetics beware!
Cures for insomnia
Given the severity of the many medical disorders that sleep loss can bring, it is vital to find a cure or at least some way to improve the quality and duration of sleep, especially if you are diabetic.
Of course, I could start taking sleeping pills. But these, in my personal experience, do not give you quality sleep.
Most people who take sleeping pills wake up feeling groggy and remain semi-sleepwalking for several hours until the chemicals in these sleeping pills wear off.
Therefore, it would be better to avoid drugs and try natural remedies.
Here are a few that you may find effective:
[1] early exercise… during the day… as morning exercise appears to affect body rhythms that influence sleep quality.
In a study published in the journal asleepthe researchers reported that women who exercised moderately for at least 30 minutes every day, 7 mornings a week, had better sleep than those who exercised less or later in the day.
Why are the timing of exercise and sleep interconnected in this way? There is no firm answer.
One possible explanation may be related to body temperature. Your temperature rises during exercise and takes up to six hours to return to normal. Cooler bodies are linked to better sleep, so if you exercise earlier in the day, you’ll be fresh before bed.
[2] Green Tea…before going to bed is excellent for relaxing the body in my experience.
Green tea contains L-theanine, an amino acid that is reputed to prevent anxiety that interferes with sleep. In a 2007 study, L-theanine was shown to reduce heart rate and the immune response to stress. It also induces brain waves that are linked to relaxation.
[3] hot milk… drunk before bedtime is an old-fashioned natural remedy for insomnia.
It can work to relax you because it invokes pleasant memories of your mother cradling you to sleep on her chest.
It is best to drink warm almond milk, as it contains a lot of calcium that helps the brain produce melatonin, a hormone involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycle.
[4] melatonin…is an internal pacemaker that controls the timing of your drive to sleep.
Melatonin induces drowsiness, lowers body temperature, and puts the body into sleep mode. The hormone is naturally produced within the body.
Research on the effects of melatonin supplements in people who have insomnia has had mixed results. It restores sleep and improves its quality in some insomniacs but has no effect on others.
Melatonin supplements are available without a prescription. But, due to a lack of regulation, they are not always subject to careful or consistent manufacturing and should be treated with caution.
[5] Magnesium… plays a key role in sleep.
Research has shown that even a small lack of magnesium can prevent the brain from calming down at night.
Good natural sources of magnesium include green leafy vegetables, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, and almonds. Integrating these foods into your regular diet is easy.
But be careful and check with your medical adviser before taking magnesium supplements, as magnesium can interfere with several common medications and too much can be harmful.
[6] lavender oil …is calming and may promote sleep in some people.
Try taking a warm bath with lavender oil before going to bed, it is a pleasant experience that can relax your body and mind. Try it.
[7] valerian root… is a medicinal herb with a sedative effect that has been used to treat sleep problems since the time of the ancient Romans.
However, the scientific research on the efficacy of valerian is mixed and the benefits always take several weeks to become effective. Check with your doctor before using it.
[8] Avoid bedtime snacks… like the plague, as the digestive process can disturb your sleep and prevent the onset of deep sleep.
Do not eat anything for at least two hours before bed.
[9] bedroom atmosphere…is very important for a good night’s sleep.
Here are some tips to keep your sleeping environment as calm as possible:
- No TV or other players in the bedroom… to avoid distractions
- Keep the temperature cool but not cold.
- Make sure the bedroom is dark.
- Filter out unwanted sounds, using a white noise machine if necessary
- Use a firm but comfortable mattress that has good support
- Use a firm pillow that supports your head and neck.
- Use linen sheets… their breathability reduces sweat, bad body odor and skin irritations.
- Wear pajamas… to send appropriate signals to your mind
last advice… If you don’t fall asleep within 30 minutes of going to bed and turning off the light, get up and leave your room. Read or do something else that requires concentration until you feel sleepy again. Then go back to your bed.