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blood sugar and insomnia?


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despairingbuttrying

For almost 4 months now I've been experiencing on going night time symptoms where I'll wake up anywhere from 130am - 530am.

Around 6am I can fall asleep again for another couple of hours. I've been recording all my waking up times and how I feel. My average waking up time at night is anywhere between 2am and 4am.

 

Last few nights I've woken up between at like 2am - 3am after just one hour of sleep and can't get back to sleep, this is seriously frustrating. I don't feel hungry or having any cravings as such but I'll wake up feeling like I've just slept 7-8 hours! And then the weird thing is, is that I hardly ever even feel tired throughout the rest of the day. Makes no sense. So during the day time and waking hours I'm fine. Now I did hear that imbalanced blood sugar levels can cause these kind of erratic sleeping patterns and middle of the night insomnia where you'll awake at like 3am due to your BS levels crashing. Is this correct? I checked my blood sugar levels back in Jan after meals during the day and it was normal.

 

I don't have any other symptoms really (although yesterday I was feeling a bit spaced out on and off).

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If you're waking up feeling as if you'd slept 7-8 hours, maybe you're actually getting enough sleep.

 

Have you considered that it may be your anxiety waking you? I'm not sure why you would go straight to wondering about blood sugar, but it's indicative of your whole state of mind. Measuring urine, checking blood sugar?

 

Where is your mind when you wake up in the middle of the night? What thoughts are you having?

 

What treatment are you seeking for anxiety?

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todreaminblue

midwest is on to something....my anxiety causes erratic sleep patterns.....i have type two diabetes....but its my anxiety and dreams and or nightmares/flashbacks that wake me up....deb

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Try our the Whole30. Or go paleo for 30 days. This nutrition will balance your blood sugar and reduce inflammation. Your sleep will get better. And your anxiety will get better if that’s an underlying cause.

 

Also practice yoga and meditation. This will reduce cortisol levels in your body.

 

Good luck my friend!!

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despairingbuttrying
If you're waking up feeling as if you'd slept 7-8 hours, maybe you're actually getting enough sleep.

 

Have you considered that it may be your anxiety waking you? I'm not sure why you would go straight to wondering about blood sugar, but it's indicative of your whole state of mind. Measuring urine, checking blood sugar?

 

Where is your mind when you wake up in the middle of the night? What thoughts are you having?

 

What treatment are you seeking for anxiety?

 

I realise there are many reasons why I would have this "middle of the night" insomnia but I think what set me off was when I read that unbalanced blood sugars can cause it. Stress, anxiety is the most common cause, however I am sceptical of this as the things I'm presently worried and troubled about are issues that have always been troubling me for years, so it's nothing new. There haven't been any major, drastic changes in my life that would cause me to wake up like this. I suppose when I wake up I don't feel overly anxious but my thoughts turn to why I'm wide awake at this time when I should be fast asleep. It's frustrating and I guess my fear is that something serious is wrong like high blood sugar.

 

I have been to the doctor recently and he just mentioned to cut out all the caffeine before bed which I'm trying to do. However I read that chamomile tea can help with sleep. Tried it last night, hasn't worked as I'm up, wide awake again at 330am. Occasionally I'll feel the slight need to pee upon waking (wondering if that's what wakes me up) but strangely, it lessens the longer I'm up.

 

I'll go back to the doctor and see what can be done next but I'm just wary of taking medication I guess. I've never had an issue with sleep before.

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despairingbuttrying
midwest is on to something....my anxiety causes erratic sleep patterns.....i have type two diabetes....but its my anxiety and dreams and or nightmares/flashbacks that wake me up....deb

 

Hi Deb, How do you know for sure it's your anxiety that causes the erratic sleep and not the high bs levels? The dawn effect is known to cause insomnia as well for diabetics.

 

Do you know how high your BS levels would be if DP was responsible for waking you up?

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My child has type 1 diabetes and low blood sugars overnight really wipe her out, and she typically isn't even aware that she's low and doesn't wake up (she wears a continuous glucose monitor that I keep track of at night and I can get her to drink a juice box in her sleep). We're in a very large T1D support group and that seems to be the common feeling for almost all the type 1's. Since you are recording how you feel, what other symptoms are you having?

 

IME, the dawn phenomenon is quite a bit later than the middle of the night, although I realize everyone is different. If you have access to a blood glucose meter, start checking your blood sugar when you wake up. You can also ask your doctor to preform an a1C test for a 3 month average.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Romantic_Antics

There's such a wide range of factors that can cause insomnia that you'd be best served consulting with your physician, who will order lab work to determine if there's any apparent underlying metabolic cause. Your PCP will also inquire about your general mental health, ie, anxiety and depression. If everything checks out there, but the insomnia persists, then he/she will likely order a sleep study next to check for things like apnea and restless leg syndrome while also recording the quality of sleep that you're getting.

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  • 1 month later...

100% anxiety and nothing else

 

Stop stressing and go back to sleeping fine like you have your entire life

 

Don’t go into the bedroom unless you’re tired. Big mistake insomniacs make.

 

Also make a wind down period before bed. No greasy food or caffeine and NO electronic devices 30 mins minimum before bed.

 

Lastly, do not lie in when you wake up in the morning. Only use the bed for sleep and for sex

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  • 2 weeks later...
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despairingbuttrying

I thought I'd update this thread.

So since I last posted, from around the end of March my sleep improved. I was sleeping through more nights than not and this waking up in the middle of the night seemed to end. I didn't really change my diet or anything, if anything I have and am still trying to decrease my overall sugar intake. So that's almost two months of much better sleep patterns, at least they were less erratic.

 

But now for the past 4/5 nights it's back! On Monday I woke up at 2am, the next night again at 230am, last night at 215am and so on after just an hour or two of sleep. And it's that wide awake feeling where I cannot get back to sleep. Eventually I do get back to sleep around 5am and manage to sleep for a few hours so thankfully I'm not too sleep deprived and still feel largely well rested.

 

Anyway this is frustrating. I do have alot of worries and frustrations at the moment but like I said before I've had these for many years. Also although I do have a fairly large tea/coffee intake every day, I haven't changed this intake so it can't be my diet. No other symptoms really. Urination patterns more or less normal, no tiredness, hunger, thirst etc.

 

So why am I sleeping well for weeks and then suddenly not sleeping well again with the middle of the night insomnia returning?

Edited by despairingbuttrying
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Lotsgoingon

Actually this happens all the time.

 

Coffee didn't used to keep me awake ... until one day I figured out that it did.

 

That change all the time with people as they get older and as our bodies change.

 

Literally in my 20s, I could drink coffee late and night and get to sleep easily. These days ... I try to have my last coffee by 1 p.m. at latest ... or my sleep will be disrupted.

 

Have you ever done a sleep study? ... Mentioned this to your doctor?

 

Any chance you have sleep apnea? ... Lots of things can be going on ... definitely worth a mention to your regular doctor ...

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If you worry about your blood sugar level simply go low carbs for a while.

 

I once always woke up in the middle of the night at the same time 3:34 then I'd stress I would not fall sleep again and I'd suffer at work. I got rid of that pattern by turning my clock and not knowing what time it is when I wake up and how much time it took for me to fall asleep again. Since then my clock is always turned so if I open my eyes in the middle of the night I don't start stressing.

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The simple fact that you're writing on these boards clearly stressed out shows that you have anxiety and that is what is causing this. Even if you don't think it's there it is subconsciously. Re-read my last post.

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despairingbuttrying
If you worry about your blood sugar level simply go low carbs for a while.

 

I once always woke up in the middle of the night at the same time 3:34 then I'd stress I would not fall sleep again and I'd suffer at work. I got rid of that pattern by turning my clock and not knowing what time it is when I wake up and how much time it took for me to fall asleep again. Since then my clock is always turned so if I open my eyes in the middle of the night I don't start stressing.

 

This is exactly what is happening with me right now well for the past 8 nights now as I wake up between 2 and 3am after just a couple of hours. I notice the first emotion/feeling I have is one of slight panic as I check the time to figure "oh not again." Then like you did, I would worry why this is happening and stress about the long term implications if this continues, worry about how long this will continue etc. It's now more than an hour since I've been up, trying my best to go back to sleep and it's just not happening as I do not feel sleepy/tired at all.

 

I guess why I'm sceptical about the caffeine link is because when I was sleeping fine just a few weeks ago, I was having my usual coffee/tea intake during the day and even a cup of tea before bed and having no issues. Now I've even cut out the green tea and just having red bush and peppermint tea (which has no caffeine) and still waking up after a couple of hours.

 

I do have some things on my mind that is bothering me but as I said before, these are more or less the same issues that have been effecting me for a long time, like years (the erratic sleeping patterns have only been an issue for the last 6-7 months now).

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despairingbuttrying
The simple fact that you're writing on these boards clearly stressed out shows that you have anxiety and that is what is causing this. Even if you don't think it's there it is subconsciously. Re-read my last post.

 

I guess why I'm confused though is why this would be happening now when I've had the same anxieties and worries for many years and never had an issue with my sleep until these past 6-7 months. I guess things can change as you get older.

 

I've got a sleep app and I've just been listening to my sleep sounds. There's quite a bit of snoring there so it indicates that I'm sleeping deeply during the 2 hours of sleep that I am getting but then something is obviously waking up for me to be wide awake and not be able to go back to sleep for a long time.

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CautiouslyOptimistic
This is exactly what is happening with me right now well for the past 8 nights now as I wake up between 2 and 3am after just a couple of hours. I notice the first emotion/feeling I have is one of slight panic as I check the time to figure "oh not again." Then like you did, I would worry why this is happening and stress about the long term implications if this continues, worry about how long this will continue etc. It's now more than an hour since I've been up, trying my best to go back to sleep and it's just not happening as I do not feel sleepy/tired at all.

 

I guess why I'm sceptical about the caffeine link is because when I was sleeping fine just a few weeks ago, I was having my usual coffee/tea intake during the day and even a cup of tea before bed and having no issues. Now I've even cut out the green tea and just having red bush and peppermint tea (which has no caffeine) and still waking up after a couple of hours.

 

I do have some things on my mind that is bothering me but as I said before, these are more or less the same issues that have been effecting me for a long time, like years (the erratic sleeping patterns have only been an issue for the last 6-7 months now).

 

How old are you? Are you female? Could it be peri-menopause? I recently joined a peri-menopause/menopause group on Facebook and you would not believe the number of posts, every single day, about insomnia, and also anxiety.

 

I recently saw a new GYN and we chatted about my peri-menopause symptoms. She gave me a list of supplements to go on for this or that (none of which I will be buying until I see my cardiologist) and she suggested Magnesium Citrate for anxiety and sleep disturbance.

 

If you're not female or old, disregard everything I have said :).

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Romantic_Antics
I've got a sleep app and I've just been listening to my sleep sounds. There's quite a bit of snoring there so it indicates that I'm sleeping deeply during the 2 hours of sleep that I am getting but then something is obviously waking up for me to be wide awake

 

The heavy snoring could be indicative of sleep apnea, which would definitely cause you to wake up. You should consider getting a sleep study to help you identify the root cause.

 

With no offense intended, don't buy into the "100% anxiety" comment. That's the cop out diagnosis (along with depression) that a doctor who doesn't specialize in sleep medicine would give you. While it's true that anxiety and/or depression can be the cause of insomnia, insomnia and sleep disturbances are far more complex than that. If you're not having any trouble falling asleep, then it's most likely not anxiety.

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despairingbuttrying
The heavy snoring could be indicative of sleep apnea, which would definitely cause you to wake up. You should consider getting a sleep study to help you identify the root cause.

 

With no offense intended, don't buy into the "100% anxiety" comment. That's the cop out diagnosis (along with depression) that a doctor who doesn't specialize in sleep medicine would give you. While it's true that anxiety and/or depression can be the cause of insomnia, insomnia and sleep disturbances are far more complex than that. If you're not having any trouble falling asleep, then it's most likely not anxiety.

 

Sent you a PM, thanks.

Yes I don't know but like you say the anxiety cause is possible but it could be other things as well. You're right I would have thought that if I had no issue falling asleep then it's not anxiety/stress related.

So it's called middle of the night insomnia however it is under the umbrella of insomnia.

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losangelena

The fact that you are recording your sleeping hours suggests to me that you are feeling some anxiety about this. So does the fact that you, despite having not apparent difficulties with blood sugar, seem to think this may be linked to blood sugar.

 

It could be that you keep waking up because now your body anticipates it. The fear of waking up is literally waking you up.

 

I agree with the notion of a sleep study, that can't hurt.

 

In the interim, it may do well to get some good sleep hygiene, as others have stated.

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