If you are a diabetic, getting some shut-eye can cause your blood sugar to dip perilously low. While some experience dips during the night others may experience spikes in their blood sugar when they begin to rouse from sleep. Hormone fluctuations or drops in insulin levels that occur during sleep are the culprits. So, you need to check your blood sugar before bed and first thing in the morning to monitor whether you are affected by either of these trends so you may take corrective action. According to a 2013 study reported in the Quality of Life Research journal type 1 and type 2 diabetics experience low blood sugar while sleeping more often than the medical establishment had previously realized.
Fortunately, there are some uncomplicated ways to prevent night-time low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. So without further adieu here are 8 fantastic tips to keep your blood sugar in check while you sleep.
Symptoms. Anxiety or having a rapid heartbeat before bedtime may indicate approaching hypoglycemia. If blood sugar drops below 70 mg/dl during the night, sweating, shakiness, headaches, confusion and nightmares may manifest. As a consequence, you may also wake up to a high glucose reading due to your body compensating for the night-time drop.
Check your blood sugar. Your bedtime goal should be a reading of 140 mg/dl. If it’s lower, a healthy snack in proportion to the drop in blood sugar will help. Pump users may want to reduce their insulin dosing to compensate for the drop.
Avoid exercising just before bed. Make sure you wrap up your exercise routine a few hours before bed. Strenuous exercise before hitting the hay can lower glucose levels. But if you are exerting yourself late into the evening and you find your glucose levels are low, you may want to indulge in a pre-bedtime healthy snack.
Don’t miss dinner. Hypoglycemia often occurs overnight as a consequence of eating a too-light a supper or missing dinner all together. If you’re apt to dine late in the evening, you might want to speak to your health care provider about using rapid-acting insulin, instead of regular insulin. The rapid-acting types lower glucose within two to four hours while regular insulin continues to lower blood sugar for up to six hours at a time.
Wine, beer, and spirits. It’s better to indulge in alcoholic beverages with food and not too close to bedtime. And the golden rule for alcohol is one drink per day for women and two for men.
Nightstand remedies. Keep a box of juice or glucose tablets close at hand to remedy any night time lows quickly.
Monitor. Check your blood sugar in the middle of the night. Do it if you wake up in the middle of the night with the need to urinate. You’ll kill two birds with one stone and the monitoring will provide your doctor with a better understanding of your night time glucose levels.
Take control. If hypoglycemia is an issue, consult your doctor. Your health care professional may prescribe you a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that will alert you when your blood sugar is too high or low.
