Diabetes patients are increasing, you may also have the impression that obese people, more likely to be plagued by diabetes. In addition, many people with diabetes feel that sleep quality is getting worse and worse since they have become ill, and evidence from observational studies suggests that people who often suffer from insomnia are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. So, what is the relationship between weight and sleep and blood sugar? We are now combining the latest scientific research conclusions to help you sort out the daily life management ideas of type 2 diabetes.
A paper was published in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal's Diabetes Research and Care fascicle. The researchers took 1331010 samples from databases in the UK and the EU and analyzed the causal relationship between insomnia and type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that insomnia increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, and there is a causal relationship between insomnia and body mass index BMI and body fat percentage. Moreover, insomnia was also associated with a lumbar-to-hip ratio, with higher BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and body fat percentage levels strongly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Therefore, obesity is the bridge between insomnia and diabetes.
Obesity, the causes are complex. From a metabolic point of view, if the proportion of easily digestible carbohydrates in the diet structure is higher, it will cause blood sugar to rise too much, causing insulin resistance, thus making fat synthesis more. When the fluctuation of blood sugar is at a low point, the body lacks energy, which will enhance the appetite and produce a stronger yearning for carbohydrates. Therefore, once the percentage of body fat reaches a certain level, it will fall into a vicious circle of getting fatter and more wanting to eat.
Obese people are prone to sleep breathing disorders, which makes the sleep structure show fragmented changes, and the proportion of slow-wave sleep decreases. The study found that the more severe the sleep apnea, the worse the blood sugar control of people who snored constantly while sleeping. After continuous positive pressure ventilation therapy and improvement of sleep conditions, the average blood glucose level, the highest blood glucose value, and the average blood glucose fluctuation range of type 2 diabetes patients will be significantly reduced.
The sleep cycle of healthy adults can be divided into 4 stages, slow-wave sleep, also known as deep sleep stage, accounting for 15% to 20% of the total sleep time. At this stage, the excitability of the sympathetic nervous system decreases, the excitability of the vagus nerve increases, the heart rate slows down, and the level of secretion of related hormones changes. After a decrease in slow-wave sleep, cortisol levels gradually rise in the morning, causing changes in cytokine levels, which increase insulin resistance. Studies have shown that the proportion of slow-wave sleep is correlated with BMI and waist circumference, which affects insulin sensitivity and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Simply put, the fatter the person, the worse the quality of sleep, the possibility of diabetes, will also increase accordingly.
Sleeping well because of obesity not only affects blood sugar metabolism, but also makes weight control more difficult. Because, when sleep is reduced, the endogenous cerebral intestinal peptide level increases, and the leptin level decreases significantly, so that the ratio of brain intestinal peptide to leptin is significantly increased, which forms a strong stimulation of appetite, makes people eat more food, and eventually falls into the predicament of getting fatter and more difficult to lose weight. Obesity exacerbates insulin resistance, induces diabetes, or causes already diagnosed patients to often be in a state of large fluctuations in blood glucose, and the risk of complications increases.
Through the above simple analysis, I hope that diabetics can understand that metabolic disorders should be regarded as a whole, and efforts should be made to strengthen daily life management through comprehensive measures, and it is necessary to focus on solving the problems of weight control and sleep disorders. Weight loss, timely treatment of sleep apnea, in order to improve sleep. After overcoming sleep disorders and increasing the proportion of slow-wave sleep, blood glucose levels can be controlled, thereby delaying the progression and impact of complications and improving quality of life.
Whoever loves, pass on health to whom.