Foods To Lower The Rise Of Blood Sugar At Night
Controlling high blood sugar levels at night is an important part of overall health for people with diabetes. But, it does not have to be a complicated process. Simple lifestyle changes including a healthy, well-balanced snack before bed can improve blood sugar levels even during the long hours between bedtime and breakfast. Video of the Day Protein is a key to preventing high blood sugar during the night. When digested, protein does not spike blood sugar or insulin levels, making it the best choice in food options before bedtime. A serving of protein should be eaten one to two hours before bedtime to help stabilize blood sugar levels before the extended fasting period during sleep. Good sources of protein include poultry, lean meats, fish, eggs and soy products. Fats also play an important role in controlling blood sugar levels. A small amount of healthy fats, like monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids, can be added to the evening snack to help the body process the protein being consumed. Examples of healthy fats are low-fat cheeses, seeds, nuts, avocado, and olive oil. Avoid trans fats and saturated fats, which can lead to high cholesterol and heart disease. Carbohydrates are often thought to be the enemy when it comes to high blood sugar. But, the right carbohydrates during an evening snack can actually be beneficial. Adding vegetables, whole-grain breads, or legumes not only provides important nutrients, but also provides fiber. Fiber decreases the risk of heart disease and helps stabilize blood sugar levels. Avoid simple carbohydrates that provide little to no nutritional value and spike insulin and blood sugar levels such as cookies, cakes, white breads and pastas, and sweetened soft drinks or juices. One to two hours before bedtime enjoy a smal Continue reading >>
Do Blood Sugar Levels Rise Or Fall While Sleeping?
Insulin and glucagon are hormones that help your body regulate blood sugar level. The level increases with the secretion of glucagon and decreases with the release of insulin, advises the “Journal of Clinical Investigation.” The amount of sleep you get affects your body’s release of glucagon and insulin. Regulating your sleeping patterns helps to keep your blood sugar levels within normal parameters during your waking hours. Video of the Day Your blood sugar levels rise and fall during your waking and sleeping hours. After at least eight hours of not eating, your blood sugar level is between 70 to 100 mg/dL, MayoClinic.com says. The level elevates after you eat, but drops to less than 180 mg/dL two hours after eating. Sleep and Blood Sugar Your blood sugar level starts rising in the evening and peaks about three to four hours after you fall asleep, notes the “Journal of Clinical Investigation.” Your body releases glucagon while you sleep, which causes your blood sugar level to rise. As it elevates, your body releases insulin to lower your blood sugar level. The rise and fall of blood sugar levels during sleep occurs regardless of whether you sleep during the day or at night. While sleeping during the day causes your glucose levels to peak about 30 minutes earlier than sleeping at night, the difference is not significant. Overall, your blood sugar levels are lower after an eight-hour sleep cycle. Sleep-deprivation and Other Effects on Blood Sugar Consistently sleeping less than six hours over six years increases the likelihood of impairing your fasting glucose levels by almost 5 percent compared to people who sleep for eight hours, according to EurekAlert.org, a service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A study conducted between 1996 a Continue reading >>
The Overnight Blood Sugar Conundrum
How do I stay in range while sleeping? In the past week, I’ve seen these two 24-hour CGM traces: It’s amazing that the same overnight insulin dose produced those two markedly different midnight-to-9am glucose outcomes (left side of each graph). The example on the right, I believe, was caused by: (i) a big late-night dinner after barely eating all day, and (ii) changing my pump’s infusion set and reservoir right before bed, without confirming a few hours later that it was working properly. Whatever the cause, I woke up at 7:50 am on Tuesday at 262 mg/dl – exhausted, frustrated, and late for a team event. I changed my pump site quickly, took a huge six-unit insulin bolus, and decided at the last minute to ride my bike 4.5 miles to the event. Halfway down the steep hill from my house, I had that sinking feeling: “Gah! I should go back home and get glucose tabs, just in case.” I cycled back, grabbed the tabs, and then my prediction turned out to be correct 15 minutes later – halfway to the event, my glucose was dropping faster than I’d ever seen in my life. I ate three tabs as a buffer and luckily avoided going low. By 9:05 am, I had arrived for our team photo event covered in embarrassing business-casual sweat, but back in range. And from there, the workday could actually begin. I tell this story to illustrate a larger point – overnight blood sugar has a major impact on the next day. Unfortunately, keeping glucose in range every single night is very difficult without an automated system. This article shares some of my Bright Spots for beating this nighttime conundrum, gleaned from those nights like the example above on the left. Enjoy, and get all my Bright Spots & Landmines here (free PDF) or at Amazon. Overnight BGs in a tight, safe range (80-140 mg/dl) Continue reading >>
7 Morning Rituals Proven To Lower Morning Blood Sugar Naturally
If you’re a diabetic, you may find that your blood sugar levels are at their peak in the morning. This is due to the fasting period overnight. It’s common for blood sugar tests to require a period of fasting beforehand to get the best natural levels. You need to get your blood sugar levels down right away. The good news is you don’t necessarily need to rely on medication. While you will want to take medication in the way that your doctor has prescribed, you will still want to follow these seven-morning rituals. It is possible to reverse type II diabetes and focus on a healthier and more natural lifestyle. Even if you’re not a diabetic, you will want to keep your morning blood sugar levels down. Here are the seven must-follow morning rituals that have proven to lower the blood sugar levels on a morning completely naturally. Wait, Why Is Your Blood Sugar Up In the Morning? Why is it that your blood sugar levels will rise overnight? You don’t eat anything, so how can you possibly add any glucose to your system? Well, those who suffer from type II diabetes will find this is most problematic. The body still creates glucose throughout the night. It needs to, whether you’ve eaten something or not. This natural process is called gluconeogenesis, and there is nothing you can do to stop it – nor would you want to. In a healthy person, this process doesn’t cause a major problem. Those with diabetes will find the gluconeogenesis process is increased. That means your body produces more glucose naturally than it would if you were healthy. Let’s not forget that the stress hormone cortisol also plays a part. This increases slowly on a morning until it reaches a peak early in the morning. The cortisol will elevate the blood sugar levels, so you end up with naturally hi Continue reading >>
How To Fix High Morning Blood Sugars (dawn Phenomenon)
There are various possible causes of a high blood sugar level in the morning: The Dawn Phenomenon which is a natural rise in blood sugar due to a surge of hormones secreted at night which trigger your liver to dump sugar into your blood to help prepare you for the day. Having high blood sugar from the night before which continue through the night into the morning. Reactive hyperglycemia which is also called the Somogyi Effect. This is when a low blood sugar in the middle of the night triggers your liver to dump sugar into your blood in an attempt to stabilize your blood sugar. Why Are My Blood Sugars High in the Morning? There is a simple strategy for diagnosing the source of high blood sugars in the morning. Test your blood sugar before bed. Test your blood sugar in the middle of the night. Test your blood sugar in the morning. It takes a little bit of effort, but you only need to do it a few times to diagnose the issue. TheSomogyi Effect is less common than the Dawn Phenomenon, according to an article published by The Polish Journal of Endocrinology. To diagnose either of these phenomena, scientists recommend checking blood sugar levels for several nights specifically between 3 a.m and 5 a.m. or using a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM). Many healthcare practitioners are now offering the use of a loan CGM for a few days which can be helpful to observe nighttime blood sugar activity. How to Fix High Blood Sugars in the Morning The Dawn Phenomenon refers to a surge of hormones excreted by your body in the early morning hours. These hormones rise each night around the same time to prepare your body to wake. Basically, your body is starting the engine, releasing some fuel, and prepping to go for the day. The Dawn Phenomenon occurs in all humans regardless of whet Continue reading >>
How Sleep Affects Your Blood Sugar
Your sleep habits can affect many things about your health -- your weight, your immune system, even how well your brain works. But it also plays a key role in controlling your blood sugar (or glucose), which affects your chances of getting diabetes. It’s tied to whether the hormone insulin, which removes glucose from the blood, is working the way it’s supposed to. Blood sugar levels surge while you’re sleeping, usually around 4 to 8 a.m. for someone with a normal sleep schedule. (It’s called the dawn effect.) In a healthy person, insulin can handle the surge by telling muscle, fat, and liver cells to absorb the glucose from the blood, which keeps your levels stable. For people who have diabetes or who are likely to get it, insulin can’t do that job very well, so blood sugar levels will rise higher. While diet and obesity are big contributors to your odds of having diabetes, studies have found that sleep habits are, too, probably because over time, they can affect how well your cells respond to insulin. In one study, more than 4,000 people reported the amount of sleep they got each night. Those who got less than 6 hours were twice as likely to have cells that were less sensitive to insulin or to have full-blown diabetes. This was true even after the researchers took other lifestyle habits into account. Other sleep disruptions and disorders, such as sleep apnea, also seem to raise a person’s odds of having diabetes. But the risk goes up at the other end of the spectrum, too. For reasons that aren’t clear, people who sleep too much -- more than 9 hours a night -- might also have higher chances of getting diabetes. It’s hard to know for certain. Many studies have suggested that short sleepers (those who get less than 6 hours per night) have irregular eating Continue reading >>
Research Reveals A Surprising Link Between Melatonin And Type 2 Diabetes
We typically associate the hormone melatonin with sleep. However, melatonin is actually involved in the timing and synchronization of a number of different physiological functions throughout the body. One of these functions is the regulation of blood sugar. Recent research has found that a relatively large proportion of the human population is genetically predisposed to be more sensitive to the impact of this hormone on blood sugar control. This can lead to higher blood glucose levels and ultimately greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Here’s how it works, and what you can do about it. The sleep hormone and the pancreas Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in the brain in response to darkness. Levels are typically very low during the day and reach their peak at night. Like other hormones, melatonin works by binding to compatible receptors – kind of like a lock and key. These receptors are found abundantly in the eyes and the brain, and when melatonin binds to them, they signal that it’s dark outside. For humans, this darkness signal indicates that it is the period when we rest, so this timing signal contributes to and is a part of a cascade of other responses that help initiate and maintain sleep . Strangely enough, we now know that these receptors are also found in the pancreas – specifically in pancreatic beta cells. By releasing insulin, beta cells regulate glucose levels in the blood. We have also discovered that when melatonin activates these receptors, insulin secretion is decreased. Circadian physiology and glucose metabolism Prior research in animals has suggested that there is a relationship between melatonin and glucose metabolism. Mice with mutations that eliminate their melatonin receptors exhibit higher insulin secretion from their islet Continue reading >>
Controlling The Dawn Phenomenon
One of our most stubborn challenges is to control the dawn phenomenon. That’s when our fasting blood glucose readings in the morning are higher than when we went to bed. The dawn phenomenon is a normal physiological process where certain hormones in our body work to raise blood glucose levels before we wake up, as we wrote in The New Glucose Revolution: What Makes My Blood Glucose Go Up…And Down? Professor Jennie Brand-Miller of the University of Sydney, Kaye Foster-Powell, and I co-authored that book (Marlowe & Co., first edition 2003, second American edition 2006). These so-called counter-regulatory hormones, including glucagon, epinephrine, growth hormone, and cortisol, work against the action of insulin. They stimulate glucose release from the liver and inhibit glucose utilization throughout the body. The result is an increase in blood glucose levels, ensuring a supply of fuel in anticipation of the wakening body’s needs. If you take insulin injections, it could be that the effect of insulin you took is waning. Your blood glucose will rise if you didn’t take enough to keep your insulin level up through the night. The dawn phenomenon varies from person to person and can even vary from time to time in each of us. That much was clear when our book came out. But how to control it was a different story. A couple of years ago here I wrote about several efforts for “Taming the Dawn Phenomenon.” People have tried everything from eating a green apple at bedtime to high-maize grain to uncooked cornstarch. None of these remedies that I have been able to try ever worked for me. I always thought that the most promising remedy was one that a correspondent named Renee suggested – vinegar capsules. “I am still using vinegar tablets (usually 8) each night and have us Continue reading >>
Why Blood Sugar Can Be High In The Morning
You wouldn’t expect hours of sleep and fasting to leave you with high blood sugar. But elevated morning glucose may be more common than you think. Although it’s not a major problem when it occurs from time to time, consistently high morning levels need your doctor’s attention. Causes of Morning Hyperglycemia High blood glucose in the morning typically occurs due to one of three distinct causes: Dawn Phenomenon The “dawn phenomenon” describes high morning glucose that occurs due to a natural rise in hormone levels. During the early morning hours between about 4 and 8 a.m., your body releases hormones like cortisol and growth hormones to get ready for the day. For reasons experts don’t completely understand, your liver produces extra glucose in response to these hormones. People without diabetes secrete more insulin to handle the extra glucose. But for people with diabetes, blood glucose levels can rise too high. Increased blood sugar due to the dawn phenomenon is usually treated with diabetes medication. If you are on insulin, your insulin levels may need to be changed. The Somogyi Effect It’s possible to experience low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, while sleeping and not even know it. The potentially dangerous problem can occur for a number of different reasons—from not eating enough or taking too much insulin, to drinking too much alcohol. In some people, the body compensates for the hypoglycemia by producing a lot of hormones. This, in turn, causes blood sugar levels to rise. Not everyone wakes in reaction to low blood glucose levels. But being sweaty or having a headache in the morning can be a sign. If you suffer from the Somogyi effect (named after the scientist who first described the condition), your doctor may recommend that you eat a snack befor Continue reading >>
10 Surprising Causes Of Blood Sugar Swings You Probably Didn’t Know
1 / 11 What Causes Blood Sugar to Rise and Fall? Whether you were recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or have been living with the disease for several years, you know how fickle blood sugar levels can be, and how important it is that they stay controlled. Proper blood sugar control is key for helping ward off potential diabetes complications, such as kidney disease, nerve damage, vision problems, stroke, and heart disease, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If you keep your levels in check on a daily basis, it will help you stay energized, focused, and in a good mood. You’ll know if your diabetes is poorly controlled if you experience symptoms such as frequent urination, sores that won’t heal, blurred vision, and unexplained weight loss. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), proper medication, effective meal planning, regular exercise, and use of a blood glucose meter to track your numbers routinely can all help you keep your levels within a healthy range. The ADA recommends blood glucose be 80 to 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) before meals, and below 180 mg/dL two hours after the start of a meal. Furthermore, the organization recommends getting an A1C test, which measures your average blood glucose over the past two to three months, at least twice per year if your levels are stable and you are meeting treatment goals. Learning how different habits can cause your blood sugar to fluctuate can help you better predict how your levels will swing. You may be more likely to experience hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar if you have advanced-stage diabetes, according to the ADA. Meanwhile, high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, may be caused by factors such as not using enough insulin or other diabetes medication, not following a prop Continue reading >>
Avoiding Blood Sugar Spikes During The Night
In addition to disrupting your sleep, experiencing high blood sugar during the night can be dangerous. The three primary causes of blood sugar spikes during the night are eating too many carbs or fats at dinner or before bedtime, the dawn effect, and the Somogyi effect. High-Fat Meal Spikes Consuming excessive carbs elevates blood sugar, and too much fat can do the same. Fats digest slower than carbohydrates, causing problems for people taking insulin. Fast-acting insulins like Humalog, Novolog and Apidra work in the body for three to four hours. After enjoying a high-fat meal, these insulins might begin working before a significant amount of glucose reaches the bloodstream – and the insulin may be done working before all the glucose gets there. This means a glucose reading can be in-range two hours after a high-fat dinner, but the level can elevate above normal five or more hours later. To avoid carb- or fat-related spikes: Stick to the dietary guidelines that generally work for you. If you indulge in an occasional high-fat meal – especially one loaded with saturated fat (animal fat) – you may need to alter the dose and timing of your insulin. If using oral medications, it can help to do some physical activity (e.g., walking) after consuming a high-fat meal. The Dawn Effect Early morning high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) can be owed to insufficient evening medication, carbohydrate bedtime snacks or the “dawn effect.” The dawn effect occurs when a middle-of-the-night increase in insulin resistance triggers a rise in blood sugar. This phenomenon has been linked to a normal release of hormones about two hours before waking. In non-diabetics, elevated glucose at dawn helps the body prepare for morning activity, and insulin keeps the glucose level in check. For tho Continue reading >>
The 4 Foods That Will Steady Your Blood Sugar
Wondering what blood sugar has to do with you, if you don’t have diabetes? Keeping your blood sugar levels as steady as possiblenow may help you avoid getting diabetes later. “As you get older, your risk for type 2 diabetes goes up,” says Alissa Rumsey, Registered Dietitian and Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Since you can’t modify your age, it is important to take other steps to lower your risk, including maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough exercise, and balancing your diet to prevent spikes in blood sugar.” Controlling your blood sugar will also just make you feel better. “It’s best to control blood sugar—it keeps your energy stable,” says Leann Olansky, M.D., an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic. “If your blood sugar doesn’t vary that much before and after a meal, that’s a healthier way to be.” Unrelated to diabetes, symptoms of occasional high blood sugar aren’t life-threatening, but rather unpleasant and only potentially dangerous if you suffer from other health problems. “When your blood sugar is too high, it can make you feel sluggish,” says Dr. Olansky. “When it’s higher still, it can lead to dehydration and make your blood pressure unstable, and cause you to urinate more often, especially at night.” But when your blood sugar remains chronically high, insulin, a hormone that’s supposed to help your body store sugar as energy, stops working as it should. “Prolonged high blood sugar levels can lead to insulin resistance, meaning your body isn’t able to use insulin properly,” says Rumsey. “Over time this insulin resistance can develop into diabetes, when insulin isn’t able to keep your blood sugar within normal levels.” Current research reveals an association between spik Continue reading >>
Sugar Highs Explained
You're taking your medications as prescribed and you're keeping an eye on your carbohydrates, yet there still may be times when your blood sugar is too high. There are many reasons for blood sugar surges--I'd like to zero in on two common issues: high morning sugar and sugar that's high after exercising. Waking up to high sugar You'd think that your blood sugar should be lower after a night's sleep. After all, you haven't eaten anything for many hours. But the body needs glucose 24 hours a day, and if you're not getting it from food, your body will turn to stored glucose in the liver. Your pancreas needs to make insulin to deal with this glucose, just as it does for glucose derived from the food you eat. Unfortunately, in many people with diabetes, insulin production during periods of fasting is as meager as (or worse than) during eating. Therefore, the sugar may rise overnight because glucose being produced by the liver is not matched by adequate insulin from the pancreas. Also, certain medications, including glyburide (brand name Micronase or DiaBeta), glipizide (brand name Glipizide) and glimepiride (brand name Amaryl), improve meal-related insulin production more than fasting insulin production. As a result, many people who take these medicines have higher glucose levels in the morning than before bed at night. Sometimes a bedtime snack will actually help lower morning blood glucose, because the sugar (from the carbohydrates in your snack) that hits your bloodstream causes the body to release more insulin than the sugar your liver releases during the night while you're fasting. Ideally, your snack should contain protein, some healthy fat and a slowly absorbed carbohydrate, such as two teaspoons of peanut butter on a half-slice of stone-ground whole-wheat bread. If t Continue reading >>
Why Blood Sugar Levels Rise Overnight
get the scoop When you go to bed, your blood sugar reading is 110, but when you wake up in the morning, it has shot up to 150. Why does this happen? To understand how blood sugar levels can rise overnight without your eating anything, we have to look at where glucose comes from — and where it goes — while we sleep. During the day, the carbohydrates we eat are digested into glucose and absorbed into the bloodstream. Some of this glucose goes to the liver, where it is stored for later use. At night, while we are asleep, the liver releases glucose into the bloodstream. The liver acts as our glucose warehouse and keeps us supplied until we eat breakfast. The amount of glucose being used is matched by the amount of glucose being released by the liver, so blood sugar levels should remain constant. what is the dawn phenomenon? A rise in blood sugar level between approximately 3 A.M. and the time you wake up is called the “dawn phenomenon.” The liver is supposed to release just enough glucose to replace what is being used, and insulin works as the messenger to tell the liver how much is enough. But if there's not enough insulin (as with type 1 diabetes), or if there's enough insulin but it cannot communicate its message to the liver (as with type 2 diabetes), the liver starts to release glucose much too quickly. In addition, levels of hormones such as cortisol begin to increase in the early morning hours, which can contribute to altered insulin sensitivity. The result? Blood sugar levels rise. This is why blood sugar levels can go up between the time you go to bed and the time you wake up. what can you do about it? You might be able to make changes in the timing of your meals, medications, or insulin injections to help prevent dawn phenomenon. First, keep a detailed rec Continue reading >>
Sleep Hacks To Lower Your Blood Sugar
As a diabetic, you probably already know how important it is to eat right, exercise, and take your meds. Here’s something you may not know about controlling blood sugar: Sleep plays a vital role in maintaining normal blood sugar levels. Get less than six hours on most nights and you're three times more likely to have elevated blood sugar levels, according to research published in the Annals of Epidemiology. Even just one sleepless night can interfere with your body's ability to use insulin (and therefore regulate glucose), according to Dutch researchers. Too little sleep also leads to more weight gain: In a national survey of 87,000 people, one-third of participants who slept less than six hours were obese. And when researchers at Columbia University analyzed 20 years' worth of data on more than 68,000 women, they found that those who got five hours or less weighed about five pounds more and were 15% more likely to become obese than those who slept seven hours. Most adults need between seven and nine hours a night, yet one in five Americans regularly sleeps less than six hours, and nearly 70% of women report frequent sleep troubles, according to national polls. The best strategy to improve sleep, according to experts: Hit the sack and set your morning alarm for the same time every day (even on weekends)—maintaining a consistent sleep schedule keeps your biological clock in sync so you rest better. Here are 9 more tips to help you sleep well and stay healthy: Skip afternoon coffee breaks The caffeine from your favorite latte can stay in your system for about eight hours; even if you can fall asleep, you may not be resting soundly. Alcohol has the same effect: Though sipping a glass or two of red wine may make you drowsy, a few hours later, the alcohol levels in your Continue reading >>
