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Sleep Apnea and Diabetes

Sleep Apneas Effect on Diabetes Mellitus

Although studies suggest a link between sleep apnea and diabetes type II, the question remains whether diabetes is a cause and/or consequence of sleep disordered breathing.

Researchers have found an association between sleep apnea and diabetes.

Several studies have shown an increased prevalence of sleep apnea and other sleep disorders in patients with diabetes mellitus type II.

There is substantial evidence that sleep duration may be an important risk factor in the development of diabetes. Sleep deprivation in healthy humans alters:

glucose homeostasis

decrease insulin sensitivity

increase the risk of obesity and diabetes

Personally, I have made a link between sleep apnea and diabetes when I talked with some of my old work colleagues who worked in shifts. Many of them have diabetes type II.

Not to mention that my father got sick when he worked in shifts. He had problems with a normal sleep, he was snoring, and now diabetes...I've never imagined that sleep deprivation can be so dangerous.

This video will help you understand diabetes type II:

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Sleep complaints are common in adult diabetics. The diabetic patients have higher rates of daytime sleepiness, insomnia, nocturnia, and restless leg syndrome.

The relation between sleep loss and diabetes is not entirely known, and it's a little bit tricky to understand.

Impaired glucose tolerance, which is a precursor to diabetes, is manifested by glucose levels rising higher than normal and for a longer period after an intravenous dose of glucose.

Apnea events from a patient with sleep apnea stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. This leads to release of cortisol and other vasoactive intermediates, which may mediate the development of glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and, ultimately, type II diabetes.

A sleep study has shown that adults with five hours of sleep or less were 2 times more likely to have diabetes, compared with those who slept seven or eight hours per night. Adults with sleep times of nine hours or more also showed these side effects.

In conclusion, you need to pay attention to sleep duration and quality. CPAP has some benefits, because CPAP alleviates glucose intolerance in the short term and long term, and improved glycemic control.