Many people assume that sleep primarily affects blood pressure, but its influence on blood sugar is equally significant. Recent studies in the field of chronobiology – the science of biological rhythms – show that getting the right amount of sleep (ideally six to eight hours) is essential for blood sugar stability. Research conducted across 21 countries involving 150,000 participants confirmed that people who consistently sleep within this range have better-controlled blood sugar and blood pressure, lower risk of heart attacks, and improved overall health.
Notably, both sleep deprivation and excessive sleep can contribute to health problems. Sleeping less than six hours raises the risk of high blood sugar, hypertension, and even heart issues. On the other hand, consistently needing more than eight hours of sleep may signal underlying health problems, such as undiagnosed blood sugar or thyroid issues.
Neal Barnard, M.D., is a physician, clinical researcher, and adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine. His books include Breaking the Food Seduction, Turn Off the Fat Genes, and Foods That Fight Pain.
When it comes to sleep, timing is crucial. Nature’s day-night cycle encourages us to be active during daylight and rest at night. For optimal health and blood sugar stability, it’s best to go to bed between 10 PM and midnight. Those who frequently stay up past midnight or have irregular sleep patterns may find it challenging to keep their blood sugar levels within a healthy range.
Late-night habits, such as watching TV or working on screens, can disrupt our natural sleep rhythm, impacting blood sugar control. Disrupting the body’s natural chronobiology – the internal clock – not only affects sleep but also influences how hormones are regulated, many of which directly or indirectly control blood sugar.
Five Tips for Better Sleep and Blood Sugar Control
Achieving good-quality sleep is a valuable step toward stabilizing blood sugar levels. Here are five sleep hygiene tips that can improve both sleep quality and blood sugar control:
Set a Consistent Bedtime: Going to bed at the same time every night trains your body to recognize when it's time to rest. This habit aligns with your body’s natural clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up refreshed.
Give Yourself Time Between Dinner and Bed: Ideally, allow two hours between your last meal and bedtime. Late-night eating can disrupt digestion and make it harder to fall asleep, impacting blood sugar levels.
Create a Restful Sleep Environment: Keep your bedroom calm and quiet, with minimal distractions. Avoid loud music or bright lights, as these can signal to the brain that it's time to stay alert rather than rest.
Limit Violent or Intense Content Before Bed: Watching stressful or disturbing shows before bed can activate stress hormones, making it harder to relax. Opt for light or humorous content, which can promote relaxation and prepare the mind for sleep.
Reduce Screen Time Before Bed: The blue light emitted by phones, tablets, and computers can interfere with melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep. Consider a digital detox before bed to improve both sleep quality and blood sugar control.
Irregular or poor sleep can trigger stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine, all of which increase blood sugar levels. These hormones naturally rise when the body perceives stress, but they can also spike when sleep is disrupted. Meanwhile, insulin, the primary hormone responsible for lowering blood sugar, is negatively impacted by poor sleep. With reduced insulin efficiency and production, blood sugar levels tend to rise, contributing to elevated blood sugar levels over time.
Integrating Sleep into Your Diabetes Reversal Program
Managing diabetes requires a balanced approach that includes diet, exercise, and sleep. By prioritizing sleep hygiene alongside diet and exercise, individuals can achieve better blood sugar control, reduce stress, and even reverse pre-diabetes. Future videos and resources in this program will dive deeper into lifestyle changes that can not only control but also prevent and potentially reverse diabetes.
Adopting these sleep practices as part of your diabetes management plan can be a game-changer. By following these tips, you may notice improvements in your blood sugar stability, overall energy, and long-term health outcomes. Prioritize your sleep, and watch as it becomes an invaluable tool in your journey toward diabetes reversal and optimal health.
✔️Professor Freeman’s studies showed that within 8 weeks, over 90% of participants had lowered their blood sugar down to healthy or near normal levels. Around half reversed diabetes at 4-6 weeks. The fastest recorded was 12 days.
✔️Depending on factors like your body type, the amount of time you’ve had diabetes and how committed you are to the program, most people will reverse diabetes type 2 in 4 to 8 weeks.
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✔️ Until Dr. Barnard’s scientific breakthrough, most health professionals believed that once you developed diabetes, you were stuck with it—and could anticipate one complication after another, from worsening eyesight and nerve symptoms to heart and kidney problems..
✔️ But as this groundbreaking work reveals, this simply is not true. In a series of studies—the most recent funded by the National Institutes of Health—Dr. Barnard has shown that it is possible to repair insulin function and reverse type 2 diabetes. By following his scientifically proven, life-changing program, diabetics can control blood sugar three times more effectively than with the standard diet; and cut back on and in some cases eliminate medications while reducing the risk of diabetes complications.
✔️ "The long overdue epic scientific breakthrough in diabetes is here…an obvious must-read for health professionals and for diabetic and potential diabetic patients." —Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD, preventive cardiology consultant, Cleveland Clinic.
✔️ "This is the approach to follow…the clinically proven way to get your blood sugar under control… and start living again."—John McDougall, MD, founder and medical director of the McDougall program.
