Fight Diabetes While Getting More Sleep

Sleep is essential to the health of humans as both the body and mind need this time to rejuvenate and become recharged.  From articles I've read it's evident that in many developed countries most people do not get enough sleep, and compounding the issue is that the quality of sleep is often poor.  Surveys indicate that more than 60% of adults in the Unites States alone experienced sleep problems a few nights each week.  For some, this is an ongoing battle.  But what does the amount and quality of sleep have to do with diabetes?

Researchers at the University of Chicago discovered that the lack of deep sleep was linked to diabetes 2.  It appears that people who got less sleep had a greater likelihood of developing diabetes than those who enjoyed longer hours of good quality sleep. Medical science notes some of the harmful effects:

i.   Inadequate sleep causes the production of cortisol, a stress hormone, to increase.  This creates a domino effect as cortisol causes your heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar to increase.
ii.  Failure to get more sleep has been shown to lead to impaired insulin action.
iii. The body chemistry is disturbed as there is an increased production of a hunger-inducing compound called ghrelin, while there is decreased production of an appetite-suppressing hormone, leptin.  The result?  You eat more leading to weight gain and create an added burden on your system with the wrong foods at the wrong time.

In order to fight diabetes while getting more sleep, you need seven to eight hours of good quality sleep every night.  It may be in your best interest to consult a health professional to identify the cause of poor sleep quality while you make every effort to ensure you are getting enough rest.