by Hayden
Adequate sleep is essential for a healthy body. It reinvigorates your mind and relaxes your body. If you lack enough sleep, you’re likely to be irritable and lethargic; this can also lead to more stress and increased appetite. We are all aware that obesity and craving for sweet foods can increase your risk of diabetes.
Regrettably, most people suffer sleep deprivation due to lack of the right mattress. However, by acquiring smart beds from Eight Sleep, you can be guaranteed of comfortable, good night sleep.
Can lack of sleep cause diabetes? Read on to find out:
- Lack of sleep affects your hormone levels. Skimping on sleep drives your hormone levels out of control. If you always lack sleep, your body discharges less insulin after you eat, leading to secretion of more stress hormones like cortisol. Cortisol makes you stay awake but tougher for insulin to do its job efficiently. As a result, you have too much glucose in your bloodstream, which intensifies your risk for acquiring type 2 diabetes.
- Lack of sleep impairs the functioning of your pancreas When you lack adequate sleep, the ability of your pancreas to deliver insulin is adversely affected, and this results in diabetes. More so, lack of sleep leads to a decrease in slow-wave or deep sleep which is the most restorative stage of sleep. Deep sleep plays a critical role in sustaining proper insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control.
- Lack of sleep results in insulin resistance.Sleep deprivation boosts resistance to insulin, and this heightens the risk of developing diabetes. There’s sufficient evidence to show that sleep deprivation could cause a pre-diabetic state. The body’s response to sleep deprivation can, in most cases resemble insulin resistance which is a symptom of diabetes.
- Lack of sleep leads to a craving for sweet foods.Your body is programmed to do most of the critical mending of the immune system during sleep. So, when you suffer disrupted sleep, you interrupt the cycle, and this affects your immune system as well as it’s the ability to fight infections.More so, if you lack sleep, your appetite levels increase, and you crave for starchy and sugary foods. Indulging in such cravings or overeating wreaks havoc in your insulin, blood sugar levels, and your weight, all which are risk factors for diabetes. If you lack sleep, you’re likely to feel sluggish and fatigued. And this makes you less inclined to exercise. Remember, working out helps in weight management and control of blood sugar.
- Lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity.How does lack of sleep increase your risk of obesity? Sleep deprivation affects your metabolism and makes your body store extra carbohydrates which can lead to weight gain. We all know that obesity is a risk factor for diabetes. More so, when you lack adequate sleep, the cardiac rhythm of the body is disrupted, resulting in abnormal hormonal changes that lead to diabetes.
- There’s a relationship between sleep and diabetes type 2. There’s a link between blood sugar and sleep. When your blood sugar is out of control, having a good night sleep becomes a problem. High blood sugar will prompt the kidneys to try to discharge it by urinating frequently, and this will make you not sleep well. Lack of sleep also increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Bottom line
Family history, what you consume, and your weight can all affect your risk of developing diabetes. More so, your sleeping habits play a significant role, and lack of sleep is a risk factor for diabetes. Therefore, get adequate sleep daily for better health and lessen your risk of diabetes.