My Diabetes Information Blogs
Sleep Affects Insulin Secretion
10/10/07
Living Well
Too little or too much sleep strains the endocrine system and can affect blood sugar levels, according to an American Academy of Sleep Medicine news release.
The news release writers wisely point out, "poor sleep or poor sleep patterns can rob you of self-control when it comes to maintaining an appropriate lifestyle."
If you're tired, are you going to want to exercise? Will you grab that large, sugary, caffeinated beverage to give you a lift? Will you eat less healthy food just to get the fuel that you crave for the day? Each person is different, but we suspect that fatigue will chip away at your resolve to take care of yourself.
One study of men only determined that sleeping more than eight hours per night appeared to increase the risk of developing diabetes. It appears that the extremes of too much and too little sleep can interrupt the hormone balance that is key to controlling or avoiding diabetes.