Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/health-wellness
Getting less than six
hours of sleep regularly can interfere with your body’s ability to regulate
blood sugar.
A young patient of mine
reported that her blood sugar levels were not quite in range despite keeping
herself active and eating clean. We had suggested lifestyle correction as the
first step to control her body weight but she said her regular exercises were
tiring her out. Meanwhile her blood sugar levels showed an uptick. What was
going wrong?
Then I asked her if she
was sleeping enough. “Honestly, I sleep about five hours a night, sometimes
less. I have a lot of daily deadlines to meet, so I rely on coffee — maybe five
or six cups a day — to stay alert,” she told me. There lay my answer. Poor
sleep and caffeine are bad news for blood sugar.
Sleep and blood sugar
spikes
Getting less than six
hours of sleep regularly can interfere with your body’s ability to regulate
blood sugar. Poor sleep stresses the body. This means your body produces more
cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol makes it harder for the sugar-regulating
hormone insulin to do its job, which means your blood sugar levels can rise.
Even if your diet doesn’t change, sleep deprivation can push your blood glucose
up. Your body becomes less sensitive to insulin, and your liver might release
more glucose into the bloodstream thinking you’re in stress mode.
But isn’t black coffee
good for diabetes?
Only in moderation. One
or two cups a day usually don’t cause problems. But having five or six cups can
backfire, especially when you’re not sleeping enough. High caffeine intake
increases adrenaline and cortisol levels, just like lack of sleep does. Together,
they create a double impact on your glucose control. So, caffeine indirectly
raises your blood sugar, too.
Plus, excessive
caffeine can lead to poor sleep quality — even if you do manage to get to bed
on time. It becomes a cycle: less sleep, more coffee, more stress hormones, and
higher blood sugar.
Studies suggest that in
some people, especially those with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, high
caffeine consumption can reduce insulin sensitivity. This means that their
bodies require more insulin to bring blood sugar levels down after meals,
putting extra strain on the pancreas and increasing the risk of hyperglycemia.
Sleep is essential for
glucose metabolism. And caffeine, though helpful in small doses, should be
limited—especially if you’re using it to compensate for inadequate rest.
The ideal combination
Start by aiming for at
least seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Try reducing your caffeine to
two cups a day — preferably before 2 pm. Then monitor your blood sugar. You’ll
likely see improvement within a week or two. These small lifestyle changes can
go a long way in protecting your health — especially if you’re at a risk for
diabetes or already managing it.
