You have done everything possible to control your blood sugar, but you may be overlooking the obvious. Current research now confirms that the quality of your sleep not only increases your risk of Type 2 Diabetes, it also increases its severity. This makes proper rest an important part of diabetic intervention, management, and even prevention. Sleep is a simple remedy that is worth its weight in gold. Educate yourself further with today’s article.

In the past decade, there has been growing evidence that too little sleep can affect hormones and metabolism in ways that promote diabetes, Knutson tells WebMD.

She cites a 1999 Lancet study by colleagues at the University of Chicago. The researchers monitored the blood sugar levels of 11 healthy young men who were allowed only four hours of sleep per night — from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. — for six nights.

“That study showed that after only a week of short bedtimes, their glucose tolerance was impaired. There could be dramatic effects even after only a week,” according to Knutson

After 6 nights of little sleep, the men had higher-than-normal blood sugar levels. (The levels were not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, however). The effects went away once the men were back on their normal sleep schedule.

Experts also believe that chronic sleep deprivation may lead to elevated levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Elevated cortisol may in turn promote insulin resistance, in which the body can’t use the hormone insulin properly to help move glucose into cells for energy.

Source: The Diabetes and Sleep Connection.” By Katherine Kam. http://www.webmd.com