Do you know that insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality increase the risk to become overweight and develop type-2 diabetes? Means if you are excessively sleepy, you could be at higher risk for weight gain and even type-2 diabetes.
The chronic sleep deprivation affects your body’s hormone levels and ability to regulate and
metabolize glucose which may result in high blood sugar and diabetes.
So, you have to be very careful about your sleep because anything that throws off your routine can make you feel a lack of energy and fatigue. The more fatigued you feel the more your motor is running, and the more likely you are to develop insulin deficiencies. So, consider your sleep as important as your diet.
How much sleep do you need?
Currently, there is no formula for how much sleep you need. It totally depends on you.
On an average, you need 7.5 hours per night, but your sleep requirement is genetically determined and varies. It can be about 4 hours on the short end to 10 hours on the long end.
If you want to know whether you are sleep-deprived or not, just answer yourself this simple question. Do you use an alarm clock to wake up in the morning? If you say yes, it means you are sleep-deprived because if you were getting adequate sleep, your brain would awaken you before the alarm goes off.
Follow these recommendations by the American Diabetes Association to improve your sleep:
- Don’t use caffeine or nicotine in the evening.
- Don’t lie in bed to watch TV or read.
- Get out of bed and do something in another room if you can’t sleep.
- Go to bed only when you are feeling drowsy.
- Do regular exercise, no later than a few hours before bedtime.
This way, your bed becomes a cue for sleeping, not for lying awake.