I Need a Nap – Quality Sleep and Type 2 Diabetes

I was never one who had trouble falling asleep, it was staying asleep during the night that caused me the most problems. It didn’t help that before my diabetes diagnosis, I would drink several bottles of beer or glasses of wine before bed. Frequent urination is a symptom of Type 2 Diabetes, but even with a full bladder, I didn’t have the urge to get up several times during the night.

However, since my diagnosis, I have given up the alcohol and find that I can fall asleep naturally, as soon as my head hits the pillow, but as a blogger and social media manager, ideas are constantly running through my head which makes for a restless night’s sleep.

​​​​​​​I started taking a droplet of Green Earth Hemp CBD Oil and it seems to have helped, but the jury is still out on all it’s affects so stay tuned for another post about CBD Oil and Type 2 Diabetes.

Hitting the snooze button several times even with the clock set 15-minutes fast is normal for me, as a matter of fact, I spend more time figuring out how much more time I have left to sleep before I need to get up that I should just get up!

According EverydayHealth.com most people with type 2 diabetes know that making certain daily lifestyle choices such as eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise are essential to managing the condition. But what about getting good quality sleep?

Experts say that quality sleep is just as essential, and that poor sleep negatively affects many health issues related to type 2 diabetes, including blood sugar levels, according to a consensus statement issued by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and published in January 2017 in the journal Endocrine Practice.

“Poor sleep is very common with type 2 diabetes,” says Daniel Einhorn, MD, a clinical endocrinologist, medical director of the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute in San Diego, and past president of the AACE. “This can have an adverse effect on all aspects of [the condition].”

How Sleep Affects Type 2 Diabetes

Sleep deprivation affects the body’s ability to use glucose efficiently, which can increase the risk for type 2 diabetes. And people with sleep problems — difficulty falling or staying asleep, sleeping fewer than 5 to 6 hours a night or more than 9 hours — are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than sound sleepers are.

Poor sleep is also associated with developing or worsening complications of type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in August 2016 in the Journal of Sleep Research, which found parallels between disruptions to sleep and the body’s natural clock (circadian rhythm) and the development of type 2 diabetes complications.

Higher body weight, cholesterol, insulin usage, and average blood glucose over 2 to 3 months (A1C levels), as well as nerve damage (neuropathy) and cardiovascular disease — common complications of type 2 diabetes — were associated with disrupted sleep.

Even with all that being said, I know that I need a nap because I am not getting a good night’s sleep, and napping isn’t just for kids anymore.

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Power Naps

Actually, naps are good for most people, not an all afternoon nap, but just a short Power Nap. A Power Nap during the daytime is sleeping for only 15 to 90 minutes. Research shows that Power Naps can help to improve brain functions ranging from memory to focus and creativity and for some, naps are as restorative as a whole night of sleep.

Research also shows that a quick nap can lower stress and recharge your willpower and has been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease and inflammation.

Believe it or not, there are several companies that encourages power napping, and who wouldn’t want to work for one of them?

Company: Google
Location: Mountain View, CA
It makes perfect sense that the forward-thinking firm (named best company to work for on Fortune’s 100 Best list) would also provide EnergyPods. As David Radcliffe—Vice President, Real Estate and Workplace Services— said: “No workplace is complete without a nap pod.” This multi-billion-dollar company was founded in 1998 and now employees more than 72,000 (well-rested) people.

Company: Huffington Post
Location: New York City
It takes focus and energy to post click-worthy content, so the online news site and blog installed napping pods for the staff to recharge. Co-founded by Arianna Huffington, who learned her lesson after collapsing from sleep-deprived exhaustion in 2007, Huffington Post installed nap rooms to becoming as ubiquitous as conference rooms.

Company: White & Case
Location: Washington, DC
The well-respected international law firm with more than 2,000 employees brought two EnergyPods to their DC offices. While more traditional companies like law firms and financial institutions have been slower to embrace daytime napping, White & Case is making an effort to change that trend.

Company: Mercedes-Benz Financial Services
Location: Fort Worth, TX
The financial services branch of the German luxury car brand offers EnergyPods to its more than 600 employees in the Texas office. This might be one of the reasons Mercedes Financial was deemed one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials by both Great Place to Work and Fortune in 2016.

Company: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Location: Palmdale, California
The futuristic-looking EnergyPod fits right in at this NASA branch, where employees work on flight research and development for space aeronautics. A power nap can only help these endeavors, as it has been shown to increase creative problem solving.

As you can see, I may get more than 7 hours sleep most nights, but I am not getting a “restful” night’s sleep. Working from home as an encore entrepreneur is great, however, after a year, I haven’t learned to take a power nap, but trust and believe, looking at the stats on my FitBit Versa, that is about to change!

Deep sleep is important for the consolidation of new memories, and is often referred to as “sleep-dependent memory processing”. Sleep deprivation studies suggest that the primary function of deep sleep may be to give the brain time to restore itself from its daily activeness. An increase of glucose metabolism in the brain occurs as a result of tasks that require mental activity.

In order to get a deep sleep, specialist recommend aerobic activities like jogging, running, and swimming. For those who are prone to insomnia, it is best to exercise earlier in the day and not before bedtime, so starting next week, I will begin my exercises earlier in the day.

Let’s Chat > I need more Deep Sleep – how about you?