Sleep struggles might be linked to low blood sugar — What to do?
Poor sleep affects your overall health, and people who log fewer hours of sleep are more likely to be overweight. Alterations in blood sugar might be the cause of you not having an adequate and restful night of sleep, and it is one key factor in your journey to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason? Or felt restless at night and spend your time tossing and turning? The culprit may be low blood sugar.
Low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia, can cause restless sleep because even though we are sleeping, our body still uses glucose as its energy source for our heart to beat and our brain to dream. That could result in nightmares, sweating, and shakiness, which triggers a stress response that suddenly wakes you up.
Getting good sleep is important for everyone and more so for people trying to lose weight. In fact, people who log fewer hours of sleep or don’t get consistent sleep are more likely to have a higher BMI. Ensuring an adequate and restful night of sleep is one key factor in your journey to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
YOUR BLOOD SUGAR GETS LOWER AT NIGHT
While alterations in blood sugar are often thought to apply to people with diabetes, adults without diabetes also experience dips and rises in their blood sugar that impact their bodies. What you eat, how much, when, and at what times affects your blood sugar levels. Here’s what might be going on:
1) Don’t skip dinner
Maybe you skipped dinner or didn’t eat enough and went to bed hungry. It can make you wake up hungry in the middle of the night, and that’s a good time to grab a light snack, even if it’s in the middle of the night. To prevent this from happening in the future, be sure to consume a dinner that’s a blood sugar-balancing meal with a protein source, green vegetables, and high-fiber carbohydrates. A filet of salmon with quinoa and asparagus or a marinated tofu bowl with peapods and brown rice could do the trick.
2) Avoid eating JUNK as a bedtime snack
Cookies, chocolate, crackers, and ice cream are all examples of bedtime snacks that can have an ill effect on your blood sugar. Low-fiber, high-sugar snacks before bed can cause a spike and a drop in blood sugar. That drop can happen during the night while you snooze.
A better option is a snack that pairs a high-fiber carbohydrate with a high-protein food. Some examples include Greek yogurt sprinkled with whole-grain granola or berries with cottage cheese. If you’re eating lower carbohydrates, then you want a fat and protein snack, like nut butter, swirled into Greek yogurt or cottage cheese.
3) Cut down on alcohol
Drinking alcohol can lower your blood sugar, and it does that by increasing your insulin response which can make blood sugar levels too low. It inhibits the natural process where the body can turn non-carbohydrates into glucose.
It’s important to curb your drinking to decrease the negative effects. Sip water in between drinks to help offset dehydration from alcohol, and most of all, drink in moderation.
4) Change your workout time
When you start your strength workout or head out for a run, your body releases stress hormones, which increase blood sugar. This is all normal, and in the end, exercise improves blood glucose levels overall. However, intense exercise late in the evening may cause a spike and dip in blood sugar, similar to eating a sugary, refined-carb bedtime snack.
Consider switching your workout time to the morning. Studies indicate people who exercise early enjoy many extended metabolic benefits throughout the day, not to mention being motivated and alert before starting work. If the evening is the best time for you and the only option, then make sure to fuel up with a good mix of protein and carbs.
While we see an ever-increasing epidemic regarding obesity and weight-related diseases, and high blood sugar is diagnosed in millions, some people suffer from low blood sugar, specifically at night. This can ironically be triggered by high blood sugar and the subsequent crash effect. Unfortunately, many people suffer from alterations in blood glucose levels, and stability in these levels comes from a healthy diet, regular exercise, and a good night's sleep.
If you are experiencing difficulties sleeping, contact Vertfit (email.vertfit@gmail.com) for diet planning and exercises that will help you to get a better night's sleep and achieve an overall healthy lifestyle.
