Can lack of sleep effect blood glucose levels?

Question

I've been getting less than 4 hours of sleep the last 5 days since I'm in the middle of relocating into another apartment in L.A., and you can imagine the kind of stress that is, and somehow I find it hard to go without food or "Carbs" for more than 3 hours and I get dizzy and shaky a lot faster. Can lack of sleep effect blood glucose levels?

Oh, and I'm not a diabetic and I usually don't have any blood sugar problems.

Answer 1

Sleep deprivation has a similar impact on the body to the aging process and may increase the severity of chronic disorders such as heart disease and diabetes, researchers have found.

A team from the US Department of Medicine in Chicago, investigated whether sleep debt can alter metabolic and hormonal functions.

Professor Eve Van Cauter, who led the study, said: "We found that the metabolic and endocrine hormonal changes resulting from a signficant slep debt mimic many of the hallmarks of ageing.

"We suspect that chronic sleep loss may not only hasten the onset, but could also increase the severity of age-related ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and memory loss."

The participants were allowed eight hours per night for the first three nights of the study.

It is thought eight hours is the amount of sleep required for the body to be fully rested.

On the following six nights, the participants were restricted to four hours' sleep a night.

Finally, they were allowed 12 hours' sleep a night for the concluding seven nights of the study.

The investigators took measurements during the day of glucose tolerance, cortisol concentrations (a hormone that helps to regulate blood sugar concentrations), heart rate, sleepiness, and the impact on the production of various hormones.

Following the period of sleep deprivation, the researchers found subjects had higher levels of glucose and cortisol in their blood.

They also took up to 40% longer than normal to regulate their blood sugar levels after a high carbohydrate meal.

Sleep deprivation also led to an increase in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls many of the body's "involuntary" functions.

Dr Tom Mackay, a consultant respiratory physician at the Scottish National Sleep Centre at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, said the research showed sleep deprivation provoked a typical stress response in the body, characterised by raised cortisol and glucose levels.

Dr Mackay said the amount of sleep people required varied between individuals.

The important thing was to feel thoroughly rested after waking up.

In many cases the quality of sleep was more important that the quantity, he said.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

sounds like it's mostly the stress. Stress causes the body to produce cortisol as a way to cope with the stress. Cortisol causes elevation of blood glucose. Not sure about the lack of sleep, but, certainly your body may be producing glucose from stores to maintain an adequate supply of nutrition to the brain. if you're moving and probably more active, that can cause low blood sugars, of course. Sleep more before your body's immune system is shot and you get sick.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Well, lack of sleep can affect your blood sugars. But, from what you are saying, you also aren't eating enough and are stressing too much. Those too can affect the blood sugars. Since you have diabetes, you MUST check your blood sugars more often and eat more often or else your blood sugars will go too low or too high (not enough food means too low; stress can make it go either way). I know the stress of moving (I moved 3 times in 3 times in 4 months last year), but I always kept my blood sugar as level as I could by eating often and checking my blood sugars often.

Good luck on your move and in your new place.

Answer 7

Yes, lack of sleep can mess you up in a variety of ways. For one thing, you burn whatever calories you eat in a different way if you don't have your normal wake/sleep rhythms. But if you eat about the same as usual, or even more junk food than usual, the net effect is that you are up and down in unpredictable ways. As soon as this relocation is complete to the point where you can, get a lot of rest and slow down for several days, and get yourself back to normal to the extent possible. You'll re-adjust better if you do. And the emotional stress will be reduced, as well.

Answer 8

I don't know about sleep, but stress in general and illness can make your blood sugar go up.

Answer 9

High blood glucose levels can lead to sleeplessness, whereas sleeplessness will not lead to increased sugar levels.

Answer 10

yes, it can cause higher glucose levels. in fact, i know a lot of men who have sleep apnea, and now have type 2 diabetes. once they were diagnosed with diabetes, though, their sleep became better.