Michelle Pugle is an expert health writer with nearly a decade of experience contributing accurate and accessible health information to authority publications.
Keri Peterson, MD, is board-certified in internal medicine and has her own private practice on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She holds appointments at Lenox Hill Hospital and Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Diabetes can affect sleep and is commonly linked with certain sleep disorders. Obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome (RLS), and disrupted sleep caused by nerve pain or a nighttime urge to urinate are all sleep issues associated with type 2 diabetes.
In this article, you’ll learn more about the connection between sleep and diabetes, diabetes complications from a lack of sleep, when to see a healthcare provider, and tips for better sleep.
martin-dm
Lack of sleep can make diabetes more difficult to manage. A lack of sleep leads to insulin resistance (when your body doesn’t respond to insulin normally), which has a significant impact on blood sugar levels. Preventing and managing diabetes require maintaining healthy ranges of blood sugar and avoiding drastic spikes and drops.
A lack of sleep can be defined as having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
Diabetes complications can occur from lack of sleep or from having a coexisting sleep disorder. Getting less than seven hours of sleep per night on a regular basis (children and teens require even more) can lead to the following complications:
Many types of sleep issues are associated with type 2 diabetes, including the following:
Obstructive sleep apnea is when a person repeatedly stops breathing during their sleep. This sleep condition often goes undiagnosed and untreated, putting a person at risk for complications, including diabetes.
People with diabetes are at increased risk of experiencing restless legs syndrome. RLS is when a person has a persistent, distracting, and irritating drive to move their legs (most often during nighttime). This need to move makes falling and staying asleep more challenging.
RLS and peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage that causes pain) are two of the more common sleep issues associated with diabetes.
High blood glucose levels associated with diabetes create blood vessel damage that affects the urinary tract, causing nighttime urges to urinate. A nighttime urge to urinate can lead to a frequently disrupted sleep cycle and lack of sleep. If you’re experiencing frequent urges to urinate overnight, mention this to your healthcare provider so they can test for diabetes.
Diabetic nerve pain, or peripheral neuropathy, is a specific type of pain sensation that can make it incredibly challenging to relax and reach a state of being able to fall asleep and stay asleep. Not everyone with diabetes experiences this pain. But the pain associated with diabetes is a risk factor for sleep issues than no pain.
Peripheral neuropathy can also create challenges in mobility or the ability to exercise. Exercising promotes better sleep by tiring a person out and releasing excess energy. Maintaining a healthy body weight for your physical frame helps prevent and manage prediabetes (high blood glucose levels that are not high enough to be diabetes) and diabetes.
If you’re experiencing any sleep challenges, keeping a sleep log or using a sleep tracking app may be helpful to your healthcare provider. They will likely conduct a physical exam and ask health history or lifestyle questions, such as how much alcohol you consume, as well as recommend blood tests to rule out other conditions that could be causing or contributing to sleep issues.
A sleep study, or polysomnogram (PSG), with a sleep specialist may also be necessary to diagnose the condition causing your sleep problems.
Depending on your location and symptoms, overnight sleep studies may be conducted in the comfort of your own home (and bed).
Whether you have prediabetes, diabetes, or are just feeling like you’re not getting enough deep sleep each night, you can make simple modifications and lifestyle changes to promote better sleep.
To improve sleep, you can try the following:
If you’re still experiencing sleep issues after trying these tips, consider consulting with your healthcare provider, who may then recommend seeing a sleep specialist.
Lack of sleep and diabetes is a two-way relationship. A lack of sleep increases the risk of diabetes, and diabetes contributes to common sleep problems and sleep disorders. These sleep disorders include obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, a nighttime urge to urinate, and peripheral neuropathy. Making changes to your daily routine and your sleeping environment can help.
While these health conditions are interconnected, poor sleep doesn’t mean you have diabetes and having diabetes doesn't always lead to poor sleep. Discuss any new or ongoing sleep problems, including the nighttime urge to urinate, with your healthcare provider, who can offer options for treatment and relief.
A person with diabetes should try to get seven hours of sleep per night on a regular basis. Children and teens need more sleep. One night of poor sleep isn’t a problem, but over time, it can worsen your diabetes symptoms.
Getting adequate nighttime sleep helps regulate blood sugar levels. But daytime napping after 3 p.m. can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night, increasing your risk of insulin resistance.
Diabetes fatigue or diabetes fatigue syndrome is a condition causing excessive daytime tiredness in people with diabetes. Causes are complex and include lifestyle factors such as sleeping habits, substance use, diet, medications, and neuropathy.
Sleep Foundation. Lack of sleep and diabetes.
National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disease. The impact of poor sleep on diabetes.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sleep for a good cause.
Doumit J, Prasad B. Sleep apnea in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Spectrum. 2016;29(1):14-19. doi:10.2337/diaspect.29.1.14
Innes KE, Selfe TK, and Agarwal P. Restless legs syndrome and conditions associated with metabolic dysregulation, sympathoadrenal dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease risk: a systematic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2012;16(4)309-339. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2011.04.001
Anyfantakis D, Katsanikaki F, Symvoulakis EK. Diabetic neuropathy and restless legs syndrome: can a known chronic condition slow down our diagnostic way of thinking? A case report and a short literature overview. Medicine and pharmacy reports. 2020;93(3):297–300. doi:10.15386/mpr-1568
National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disease. Diabetes, sexual and bladder problems.
Naranjo C, Dueñas M, Barrera C, Moratalla G, Failde I. Sleep characteristics in diabetic patients depending on the occurrence of neuropathic pain and related factors. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2020;17(21):8125. doi:10.3390/ijerph17218125
American Heart Association. Recommendations for physical activity in adults.
MedlinePlus. Sleep disorders.
Kalra S, Sahay R. Diabetes fatigue syndrome. Diabetes therapy: research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders. 2018;9(4):1421–1429. doi:10.1007/s13300-018-0453-x
Michelle Pugle, BA, MA, is an expert health writer with nearly a decade of contributing accurate and accessible health news and information to authority websites and print magazines. Her work focuses on lifestyle management, chronic illness, and mental health. Michelle is the author of Ana, Mia & Me: A Memoir From an Anorexic Teen Mind.
Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.
There was an error. Please try again.