Must-Know Tips for Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Often the many symptoms of diabetes can make sleeping a stressful and inconsistent experience. For instance pain in the extremities, dehydration, hunger, and frequent urination can make staying asleep nearly impossible. Nobody should ignore the importance of getting a good night’s sleep, the effects of sleep deprivation can be dangerous.

Not Getting Enough Sleep

Many sufferers of diabetes complain that one of their greatest worries is falling asleep, and staying asleep throughout the night. What they may not know, is that, for people with diabetes, feeling tired is not the only risk of missing sleep. Blood glucose levels can be directly affected by one’s amount of sleep. Additionally, one’s appetite and metabolism are directly affected by the hormonal processes that take place during sleep.

Tips on Turning In

• Caffeine Consumption: although this may seem fairly obvious one of the biggest mistakes people make is underestimating their tolerance to caffeine. Set a daily limit on how late you allow yourself to consume caffeine. Most find that around 3-5 is a healthy place to curb caffeine consumption.

• Regular Schedule: One of the biggest components of getting a good night sleep is creating a consistent sleep schedule. People often find that they can’t sleep because their bodily rhythm is just too hectic. Keep a sleep log, marking the times you go to bed, and the times you get up, so you can better manage your routine. The ideal is to have very similar times every day, allowing your body to get into a comfortable and healthy rhythm.

• Powering Down: Studies show that putting away your electronics an hour or so before bed can rapidly improve your chance of falling asleep. Screens often mimic daylight, and trick the body into thinking it should be awake. You can adjust the settings on your smartphone, tv, or laptop to make it easier on the eyes, or simply shut them off. Try setting the limit to 15 minutes before bed, and increasing the time until you start falling asleep comfortably.

All that said, the #1 tip experts support for getting a good night’s sleep, for people with diabetes, is keeping sugar levels at a balanced steady point and maintaining a light yet consistent exercise regime.

Good night and sweet dreams!

The CuraLife Team