Laboratory research has found that short sleep duration results in metabolic changes that may be linked to obesity. Epidemiologic studies conducted in the community have also revealed an association between short sleep duration and excess body weight. This association has been reported in all age groups—but has been particularly pronounced in children.

It is believed that sleep in childhood and adolescence is particularly important for brain development and that insufficient sleep in youngsters may adversely affect the function of a region of the brain known as the hypothalamus , which regulates appetite and the expenditure of energy.

The relationship between sleep and depression is complex. While sleep disturbance has long been held to be an important symptom of depression, recent research has indicated that depressive symptoms may decrease once sleep apnea has been effectively treated and sufficient sleep restored.

The interrelatedness of sleep and depression suggests it is important that the sleep sufficiency of persons with depression be assessed and that symptoms of depression be monitored among persons with a sleep disorder. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search.

Español Other Languages. Sleep and Chronic Disease. Minus Related Pages. Last Reviewed: September 13, Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion , Division of Population Health. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. home Sleep. Insomnia can also increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to research led by the University of Bristol , that we funded.

Diabetes technology has the potential to improve the quality of sleep for people living with diabetes. Sometimes known as an artificial pancreas, hybrid closed loop systems are designed to keep blood sugar levels more stable throughout the day and night, and they can reduce how many hypos someone living with type 1 diabetes experiences.

Parents of a child living with diabetes see benefits too. Research has previously shown that when closed loop systems were tested in children, nine out of 10 parents said they reported less trouble sleeping. Flash glucose monitors and continuous glucose monitors CGMs can alert people on their smartphones when their blood sugar levels are falling too low or rising too high.

This can be useful during the night for anyone living with diabetes who is susceptible to a hypo and has hypo unawareness. Wearable sleep trackers can give you insights into your sleep habits and patterns, as well as health metrics and tips to help you improve how well your sleep. We know that certain complications that can be related to diabetes, such as nerve damage and foot pain, can make it difficult to sleep.

Sleep apnoea is a complication that can be more likely to develop in people living with type 2 diabetes and obesity. People who have sleep apnoea can find their breathing stops and starts while they sleep, and it requires treatment to prevent further problems developing. Giving up smoking and lowering your alcohol intake can help with sleep apnoea, while some may be offered a CPAP machine, which gently pumps air into a mask you wear over your mouth or nose while you sleep.

If you are struggling to sleep because of complications related to diabetes then you can contact your healthcare team for advice.

Most experts recommend that adults get hours of quality sleep a night, children get hours, and babies get hours. Not getting enough sleep, or getting too much sleep, can impact our energy levels, motivation and emotions.

Having good sleep habits, such as going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, can help us to get better sleep. You can call our helpline on or email helpline diabetes. You can also join our online forum and chat to other people who might be having similar sleep problems as you.

Alterations in sleep architecture may be the result of both behavioral and physiological aspects of diabetes and its management. Sleep apnea may be more prevalent in people with type 1 diabetes, and presence of OSA has been linked to impaired glycemic control.

Furthermore, lack of the normal decline in blood pressure during sleep may be linked to short sleep duration in people with type 1 diabetes, and this may accelerate the development of cardiovascular and microvascular disease.

Additional research is needed to better understand the mechanisms determining why and how sleep is disrupted in individuals with type 1 diabetes and what impact sleep disruption may have on diabetes management and control.

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Previous Article Next Article. Sleep Quality and Sleep Architecture Structure of Sleep. Effects of Disrupted Sleep on Glucose Control.

Sleep Disorders. Impact of Diabetes Pathophysiology and Treatment on Sleep. Duality of Interest. Article Navigation. From Research to Practice February 01 Type 1 Diabetes and Sleep Sarah S. Farabi Sarah S. Center for Narcolepsy, Sleep and Health Research, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL.

Corresponding author: Sarah S. Farabi, schwarzsar gmail. This Site. Google Scholar. Diabetes Spectr ;29 1 — Get Permissions. toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu. toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest.

No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported. Sleep, executive functioning and behaviour in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Search ADS.

van Dijk. Disturbed subjective sleep characteristics in adult patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus. Altered neuroendocrine sleep architecture in patients with type 1 diabetes. Restless legs syndrome and sleep problems in children and adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus type 1.

Associations between HbA1c and depressive symptoms in young adults with early-onset type 1 diabetes. Short sleep duration measured by wrist actimetry is associated with deteriorated glycemic control in type 1 diabetes.

Nocturnal continuous glucose and sleep stage data in adults with type 1 diabetes in real-world conditions. Partial sleep restriction decreases insulin sensitivity in type 1 diabetes.

Sleep apnoea in children with diabetes mellitus: effect of glycaemic control. High prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in a type 1 diabetic adult population: a pilot study.

Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy contributes to sleep apnea in young and lean type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. Obstructive sleep apnoea in people with type 1 diabetes: prevalence and association with micro- and macrovascular complications.

Defective awakening response to nocturnal hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Hypoglycemia does not change the threshold for arousal from sleep in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Sleep-related hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure in type 1 diabetes reduced awakening from sleep during hypoglycemia.

Specifically, sleep duration and quality have emerged as predictors of levels of Hemoglobin A1c , an important marker of blood sugar control.

Recent research suggests that optimizing sleep duration and quality may be important means of improving blood sugar control in persons with type 2 diabetes. Persons with sleep apnea have been found to be at increased risk for a number of cardiovascular diseases.

Notably, hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease and irregular heartbeats cardiac arrhythmias have been found to be more common among those with disordered sleep than their peers without sleep abnormalities.

Likewise, sleep apnea and hardening of the arteries atherosclerosis appear to share some common physiological characteristics, further suggesting that sleep apnea may be an important predictor of cardiovascular disease.

Laboratory research has found that short sleep duration results in metabolic changes that may be linked to obesity.

Epidemiologic studies conducted in the community have also revealed an association between short sleep duration and excess body weight. This association has been reported in all age groups—but has been particularly pronounced in children. It is believed that sleep in childhood and adolescence is particularly important for brain development and that insufficient sleep in youngsters may adversely affect the function of a region of the brain known as the hypothalamus , which regulates appetite and the expenditure of energy.

Sleep apnoea is a complication that can be more likely to develop in people living with type 2 diabetes and obesity. People who have sleep apnoea can find their breathing stops and starts while they sleep, and it requires treatment to prevent further problems developing.

Giving up smoking and lowering your alcohol intake can help with sleep apnoea, while some may be offered a CPAP machine, which gently pumps air into a mask you wear over your mouth or nose while you sleep. If you are struggling to sleep because of complications related to diabetes then you can contact your healthcare team for advice.

Most experts recommend that adults get hours of quality sleep a night, children get hours, and babies get hours. Not getting enough sleep, or getting too much sleep, can impact our energy levels, motivation and emotions.

Having good sleep habits, such as going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, can help us to get better sleep. You can call our helpline on or email helpline diabetes. You can also join our online forum and chat to other people who might be having similar sleep problems as you. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with no.

Skip to main navigation Skip to content. Breadcrumb Home Guide to diabetes Life with diabetes Sleep and diabetes.

Most adults need at least seven to nine hours of sleep a night, according to the NSF. According to the NSF, naps should be kept relatively short — around 20 minutes — and limited to the early afternoon.

Napping any later is likely to throw off your ability to get to sleep that night. Some of the tips for quality sleep with type 2 diabetes are the same as those for the general population, Faiman says.

Near the top of the list for better sleep is having a regular routine for the time you go to bed and the time you wake up — on both weekdays and weekends, Pape says. Most people know the importance of a regular bedtime for children. Studies show that kids with consistent bedtime routines have better-quality sleep, and they also perform better on tests of executive function, memory, and attention.

Other research shows that regular bedtimes are beneficial for adults as well. A study published in Chronobiology International found that having a stable bedtime and wake time every day is associated with better sleep quality and shorter sleep onset.

Furthermore, a study published in in Scientific Reports suggests that a regular sleep routine is important for overall health. Researchers observed more than 1, adults and found that those with irregular sleep patterns weighed more, had higher blood pressure and blood sugar, and were at a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, compared with those with regular sleep schedules.

Exposure to bright light — even from a smartphone — not only disrupts sleep but can also alter your metabolism and mess with your weight.

A study published in PLoS ONE in found that blue-light exposure was linked to an increase in insulin resistance which means the body has a decreased ability to move blood sugar from the bloodstream to cells to be used for energy.

According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in , blue-light exposure at night may increase the risk of weight gain and obesity. These studies highlight the importance of turning off light sources — including your phone, TV, and computer — well before bedtime.

The NSF recommends shutting off devices at least 30 minutes before bed, though doing so an hour or two earlier, if realistic, is ideal.

Alcohol affects blood sugar levels. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation and only with food, the organization says. The — U. To reduce the risk of sleep disturbances, the NSF recommends stopping alcohol consumption four hours before bedtime.

And the relationship between sleep and blood sugar levels goes the other way, too. In other words, extra blood sugar goes into the urine and pulls water from your tissues, so you pee more, notes the Mayo Clinic. In addition, patients with diabetes are up to 3 times more likely to have depression compared with the general public, but just one-quarter to one-half get help, according to the CDC.

Bottom line: Having depression puts you at increased risk for insomnia, and, conversely, insomnia may elevate your risk of depression. About 77 percent said that they had sleep problems, such as difficulty falling asleep, sleep apnea, or daytime sleepiness.

Obstructive sleep apnea OSA is one of the main causes of fragmented sleep in people with type 2 diabetes, notes the Sleep Foundation.

It is characterized by repeated episodes of upper airway collapse and obstruction during sleep. It is frequently associated with low oxygen concentration in the blood. Typical sleep apnea symptoms include snoring, gasping, increased nighttime urination, daytime sleepiness, and irritability.

The relationship between type 2 diabetes and OSA is complex. First, obesity is a major risk factor for both conditions. Second, OSA may lead to increases in blood glucose due to increases in stress hormones.

Third, type 2 diabetes may worsen OSA via damage to nerves involved in respiration. The main treatment for OSA is continuous positive airway pressure CPAP therapy, which involves sleeping while breathing air through a mask at increased pressure.

This treatment can help improve daytime sleepiness and lower blood pressure, but many people with type 2 diabetes do not receive adequate treatment for OSA. There are two main hunger hormones: leptin, which turns off your appetite, and ghrelin, which stimulates hunger.

In a meta-analysis of 11 studies, people who were sleep-deprived consumed extra calories per day compared with a control group. Not only are you up against that hunger hormone driving you to eat more, but there are simply more hours when you are awake and eating.

The healthy sleep guidelines that apply to everyone are especially important to follow if you have diabetes, says Reynolds. Disturbed sleep and waking up often in the middle of the night are associated with worsening levels of diabetes self-care, one study found.

Self-care in diabetes includes the routines that you regularly perform to manage the condition. And another study noted that sleeping fewer or more than seven hours a day was associated with a greater risk of earlier death.

Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

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By Jessica Migala. Medically Reviewed. Elise M. Brett, MD. Next up video playing in 10 seconds. Get an online second opinion from one of our experts without having to leave your home. Get a Second Opinion. MyChart UChicago Medicine. In the largest study of its kind to establish a link between sleep and diabetes, researchers found that people with diabetes who sleep poorly have higher insulin resistance, and a harder time controlling the disease.

The findings, published in the May issue of Diabetes Care, suggest that poor sleep may contribute to worse outcomes in people with diabetes. They have a reduced quality of life.

And, they have a reduced life expectancy. People with diabetes generally have poorer sleep than the general population, and poor sleep has been proposed as a risk factor for developing the disease.

Sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, are more prevalent in people with type 2 diabetes, Knutson said. For the study, researchers monitored the sleep of 40 people with diabetes for six nights. The subjects also reported if they generally suffered from symptoms of sleep disturbances like insomnia, snoring or sleep apnea.

At clinical examinations, they gave blood samples to allow researchers to measure insulin and glucose levels. The subjects wore activity monitors on their wrists at night, which measure their wrist movements throughout the night. Poor sleep, or insomnia, was determined by both poor sleep quality based on the activity monitors and the subject telling the researchers that they often had a hard time falling asleep or woke up during the night.

Knutson said the next step for researchers is to see if treating poor sleep can improve long-term outcomes and quality of life for diabetics. In fact, restoring a healthy amount of sleep may be as powerful an intervention as the drugs currently used to treat type 2 diabetes.

Further investigation into which leads to the other -- the chronic poor sleep or chronic insulin resistance -- could improve the quality of life for people with type 2 diabetes.

Too little sleep can:. Sleep quality is as important as how many hours you get. One of the best things you can do is to wake up and go to bed at around the same time every day, even on weekends, making sure you get enough quality sleep consistently.

These tips can help:. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Español Other Languages. Sleep for a Good Cause. Español Spanish.

Minus Related Pages. Getting good sleep is important for your mind, your body, and your diabetes. Get Good Sleep. Repeatedly waking up during the night. Having symptoms of sleep disorders such as snoring or gasping for air. More Information. Learn More About Sleep Living With Diabetes CDC Diabetes on Facebook CDCDiabetes on Twitter.

Page last reviewed: July 28, Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. home Diabetes Home. To receive updates about diabetes topics, enter your email address: Email Address. Near the top of the list for better sleep is having a regular routine for the time you go to bed and the time you wake up — on both weekdays and weekends, Pape says.

Most people know the importance of a regular bedtime for children. Studies show that kids with consistent bedtime routines have better-quality sleep, and they also perform better on tests of executive function, memory, and attention.

Other research shows that regular bedtimes are beneficial for adults as well. A study published in Chronobiology International found that having a stable bedtime and wake time every day is associated with better sleep quality and shorter sleep onset.

Furthermore, a study published in in Scientific Reports suggests that a regular sleep routine is important for overall health. Researchers observed more than 1, adults and found that those with irregular sleep patterns weighed more, had higher blood pressure and blood sugar, and were at a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, compared with those with regular sleep schedules.

Exposure to bright light — even from a smartphone — not only disrupts sleep but can also alter your metabolism and mess with your weight.

A study published in PLoS ONE in found that blue-light exposure was linked to an increase in insulin resistance which means the body has a decreased ability to move blood sugar from the bloodstream to cells to be used for energy.

According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in , blue-light exposure at night may increase the risk of weight gain and obesity. These studies highlight the importance of turning off light sources — including your phone, TV, and computer — well before bedtime.

The NSF recommends shutting off devices at least 30 minutes before bed, though doing so an hour or two earlier, if realistic, is ideal. Alcohol affects blood sugar levels. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation and only with food, the organization says.

The — U. To reduce the risk of sleep disturbances, the NSF recommends stopping alcohol consumption four hours before bedtime. Not to mention, not drinking too much before going to sleep might also help you avoid having to get up to go to the bathroom during the night.

You will sleep better at night if you get in some physical activity during the day, with as little as 10 minutes of aerobic exercise showing benefits, the NSF says. Exercise can also help you burn calories and maintain a healthy weight, Strohl says.

Everyone deals with some stress, but people with type 2 diabetes are often under even more pressure due to managing a chronic condition on top of everyday stresses.

Typically, once the external threat is removed, these hormones subside and the body relaxes again. Research shows that mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing, visualization, and meditation, can encourage better sleep.

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine , for example, found that participating in a mindfulness program led to fewer episodes of insomnia and less daytime fatigue in adults with moderate sleep problems. Health Conditions A-Z. Best Oils for Skin Complementary Approaches Emotional Wellness Fitness and Exercise Healthy Skin Online Therapy Reiki Healing Resilience Sleep Sexual Health Self Care Yoga Poses See All.

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