Sleep Deprivation and Diabetes
Sleep deprivation is a medical condition that describes how the lack of sleep impairs our ability to function during the daytime. Although most of us may feel sleep deprived, if we can function during the day without the loss of cognitive ability or motor function, we’re not considered sleep deprived. However, about 47 million of us (or 25%) qualify for sleep deprivation.
Sleep deprivation weakens the immune system leaving us more susceptible to other diseases and disorders like diabetes, cancer and even the common cold. It is not uncommon for people who suffer from sleep deprivation due to sleep disorders - sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia, etc. - to also suffer from other problems including diabetes, asthma or a second sleep disorder.Sleep deprivation also causes much stress and, again, stress weakens our immune system a double whammy. And both of these things, sleep deprivation and stress, can upset your mental processes. You may suffer from confusion, memory loss, irritability or emotional highs and lows. If you already have a mental disorder, sleep deprivation only adds to the problem.
Sleep deprivation leads to decreased levels of the satiety hormone leptin, increases in the hunger hormone ghrelin, and impaired glucose tolerance, Dr. Van Cauter and associates discovered when they created a “sleep debt” in healthy adults by restricting the number of hours they slept in a sleep laboratory, she said at a conference on sleep in infancy and childhood sponsored by the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences.
Sleep deprivation is linked to poor blood sugar control in diabetes, according to a new study.It is already known that sleep deprivation impairs blood sugar control in healthy people. Now, for the first time, there is evidence it has a negative impact on those with diabetes as well.Researchers at the University of Chicago have carried out a study on 161 African-American patients with diabetes, who were asked how much sleep they thought they needed - and how much they actually got. Glycosylated hemoglobin - a standard measure of blood sugar control - was also determined. On average, these patients seemed to be suffering from sleep deprivation - getting only around six hours a night. Only six per cent got eight hours and, for most, sleep quality was assessed as being poor. It may be that painful complications of diabetes interfere with sleep. But even when this was excluded, two out of three still had sleep deprivation.
A special investigative report conducted by CBS 60 Minutes revealed that sleep deprivation, sleep loss, or sleep interruption contribute to (or cause) numerous health problems including diabetes, depression, memory loss, poor thinking, and weight gain (due to a lowering of the protein Lepton which suppresses appetite and tells the brain when the stomach is full). The special report included information from various scientific studies as well as interviews with specialists in the field of sleep disorders. People who normally would not get sick with the flue or other illnesses, are more susceptible to sickness when short on sleep. Because obesity is one of the primary causes of death in the United States, with the close link between poor sleep and obesity, it is fair to say that poor sleep may be a leading cause of death.
