Sharp drops and spikes in glucose are often a point of interest for many people exploring their metabolic health.
The reason your glucose level is dropping while sleeping could be due to a wide variety of issues described below.
The Impact of REM Sleep on Glucose Levels
Research also shows that glucose levels decrease by an average of 5% during REM sleep compared to non-REM sleep stages, which may contribute to periodic dips seen at night in nondiabetic people. In fact, healthy people who have glucose dips below 70 mg/dl have twice as many dips at night compared to the day.
Meal and Alcohol Timing and Glucose Levels
When you wake up after a long night’s sleep, your body has been in a fasting state for quite a few hours. During this fasting period, your body expends circulating and stored glucose to perform all the usual physiologic processes. If you tend to stop eating earlier in the evening and do not snack at night, this fasting window will be greater, leading to lower glucose levels during that night.
Additionally, drinking alcohol in the evening could lead to low glucose values overnight. It’s thought that drinking alcohol decreases the liver’s ability to make new glucose via gluconeogenesis, leading to lower circulating glucose levels. To counter this decrease, alcohol stimulates the breakdown and release of stored glucose (glycogen). This balance between impaired gluconeogenesis (new glucose product) and increased glycogenolysis (stored glucose release) means that alcohol shouldn’t significantly affect glucose levels for normal, healthy individuals eating a standard diet.
However, the situation is different for those who’ve been fasting or are in a ketogenic state because these individuals already have much less glucose stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. Normally this state prompts the liver to produce new glucose via gluconeogenesis, but, as noted above, alcohol inhibits this process. The result is that glucose levels can fall to dangerously low levels, and in extreme cases, this hypoglycemic state can lead to seizures, coma, or death.
Pressure-Induced Sensor Error
Your glucose levels might not actually be dropping at night; it could just be your sleeping position, causing a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CMG) sensor error.
One study found that individual sensors intermittently exhibited unusual glucose readings greater than 25 mg/dl away from the subject’s median of 70-110 mg/dl during sleep. These odd dips were strongly correlated to subjects lying on the sensors.
The analysis also stipulates that the cause of the dip could be due to local blood-flow decreases caused by the compression of tissue in the sleeping position.
Another study confirmed the claims that some glucose dips could be the effect of motion and pressure on glucose sensors. If you lay on the sensor, you could see a dip in the readings that isn’t actually expressive of your real blood glucose content.
To get more accurate readings at night, you can try to adjust your sleeping position in a way that doesn’t put a lot of pressure on the sensor.
In the modern digital world of DIY medicine, a quick Google search may convince you that your glucose dropping at night is a condition called nocturnal hypoglycemia. This condition affects individuals with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, is often associated with insulin use, and refers to blood glucose levels dropping below 60-70 mg/dl while sleeping at night.
Nocturnal hypoglycemia most commonly affects diabetic individuals who:
- Skip meals, specifically dinner
- Exercise before going to bed
- Drink alcohol before going to bed
- Have some infection
Some symptoms of nocturnal hypoglycemia include:
- Sweaty, hot, or clammy skin
- Shaking or trembling
- Changes in normal breathing patterns, such as sudden fast or slow breathing
- Higher heartbeat
- Nightmares that wake the person up
If you have a diagnosis of diabetes and have noticed these sudden drops in glucose and experience any of the above symptoms, follow up with a doctor to get a professional opinion.
Want to learn more about your metabolic health?
Levels, the health tech company behind this blog, helps people improve their metabolic health by showing how food and lifestyle impact your blood sugar, using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), along with an app that offers personalized guidance and helps you build healthy habits. Click here to learn more about Levels.
Kupungua kwa kiwango cha sukari katika damu mara nyingi ni jambo la kuvutia kwa watu wengi wanaochunguza afya yao ya kimetaboliki. Sababu ya kiwango cha sukari ya damu kushuka wakati wa kulala inaweza kuwa kutokana na aina mbalimbali za masuala yaliyoelezwa hapa chini. Utafiti pia unaonyesha kuwa viwango vya sukari hupungua kwa wastani wa 5% wakati wa usingizi wa REM ikilinganishwa na hatua zisizo za REM, ambayo inaweza kuchangia kupungua kwa mara kwa mara kwa usiku kwa watu wasio na kisukari. Kwa kweli, watu wenye afya ambao wana viwango vya chini ya 70 mg DL ya sukari ya damu, wana viwango vya chini mara mbili usiku ikilinganishwa na mchana. Wakati wa kula na pombe: Wakati wa kula na pombe: Wakati wa kuamka baada ya usingizi mrefu wa usiku, mwili wako umekuwa katika hali ya kufunga kwa masaa kadhaa. Wakati wa kipindi hiki cha kufunga, mwili wako hutumia sukari inayozunguka na kuhifadhiwa kufanya michakato yote ya kawaida ya kisaikolojia. Ikiwa una mwelekeo wa kuacha kula mapema jioni na usile chakula kidogo usiku, dirisha hili la kufunga litakuwa kubwa zaidi, na kusababisha viwango vya sukari chini usiku huo. Kwa kuongezea, kunywa kileo jioni kunaweza kusababisha viwango vya sukari vya chini usiku kucha. Inafikiriwa kwamba kunywa pombe hupunguza uwezo wa ini kutengeneza glukosi mpya kupitia gluconeogenesis, na kusababisha viwango vya chini vya glukosi zinazozunguka. Ili kukabiliana na kupungua huko, pombe huchochea kuharibiwa na kutolewa kwa glukosi (glycogen) iliyohifadhiwa. Usawa huu kati ya kuharibika kwa gluconeogenesis (bidhaa mpya ya glukosi) na kuongezeka kwa glycogenolysis (kuachiliwa kwa glukosi iliyohifadhiwa) inamaanisha kwamba pombe haipaswi kuathiri sana viwango vya glukosi kwa watu wa kawaida, wenye afya wakila chakula cha kawaida. Hata hivyo, hali ni tofauti kwa wale ambao wamekuwa kufunga au ni katika hali ketogenic kwa sababu watu hawa tayari kuwa na kiasi kidogo cha glukosi kuhifadhiwa kama glycogen katika ini na misuli. Kwa kawaida hali hii huchochea ini kutengeneza glukosi mpya kupitia gluconeogenesis, lakini, kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, pombe huzuia mchakato huu. Matokeo ni kwamba viwango vya sukari ya damu vinaweza kushuka hadi viwango vya chini sana, na katika visa vikali, hali hii ya hypoglycemic inaweza kusababisha mshtuko wa moyo, kukosa fahamu, au kifo. "Kosa la Sensor ya Pressure-Induced: ""Hakika viwango vyako vya sukari havipunguki usiku, inaweza kuwa tu nafasi yako ya kulala, ikisababisha kosa la sensorer ya Monitor ya Glucose ya kuendelea (CMG)." Utafiti mmoja uligundua kwamba sensorer za mtu binafsi zilionyesha usomaji wa kawaida wa sukari zaidi ya 25 mg DL kutoka kwa wastani wa mtihani wa 70-110 mg DL wakati wa usingizi. Vipimo hivyo visivyo vya kawaida vilihusiana sana na watu waliolala juu ya vifaa vya kupima. Uchunguzi pia unasema kwamba sababu ya kuzama inaweza kuwa kutokana na kupungua kwa mtiririko wa damu ya ndani inayosababishwa na kukandamiza tishu katika nafasi ya kulala. Utafiti mwingine ulithibitisha madai kwamba baadhi ya kushuka kwa sukari kunaweza kuwa matokeo ya mwendo na shinikizo kwenye sensorer za sukari. Kama wewe kuweka juu ya sensor, unaweza kuona dip katika masomo kwamba si kweli kuelezea yako halisi ya damu sukari maudhui. Ili kupata masomo sahihi zaidi usiku, unaweza kujaribu kurekebisha nafasi yako ya kulala kwa njia ambayo haitoi shinikizo kubwa kwenye sensor. Katika ulimwengu wa kisasa wa dawa za DIY, utafutaji wa haraka wa Google unaweza kukusadikisha kuwa kushuka kwa sukari yako usiku ni hali inayoitwa hypoglycemia ya usiku. Ugonjwa huu huathiri watu wenye ugonjwa wa kisukari wa Aina ya 1 au ya Aina ya 2, mara nyingi huhusishwa na matumizi ya insulini, na inahusu viwango vya sukari ya damu kushuka chini ya 60-70 mg DL wakati wa kulala usiku. Hypoglycemia ya usiku huathiri zaidi watu wenye kisukari ambao: - Hupunguza chakula cha jioni, hasa chakula cha jioni - Unafanya mazoezi kabla ya kwenda kitandani - Unakunywa pombe kabla ya kwenda kitandani - Una maambukizo - Baadhi ya dalili za hypoglycemia ya usiku ni pamoja na: - Ngozi, joto, au ngozi clammy - Kutetemeka au kutetemeka - Mabadiliko katika mifumo ya kupumua ya kawaida, kama vile kupumua haraka au polepole - Kupiga kwa moyo - Ndoto ambazo huamsha mtu. Je, ungependa kujifunza zaidi kuhusu afya yako ya kimetaboliki? Levels, kampuni ya teknolojia ya afya nyuma ya blogi hii, inasaidia watu kuboresha afya yao ya kimetaboliki kwa kuonyesha jinsi chakula na mtindo wa maisha unavyoathiri sukari yako ya damu, kwa kutumia ufuatiliaji wa kuendelea wa sukari (CGM), pamoja na programu ambayo inatoa mwongozo wa kibinafsi na kukusaidia kujenga tabia nzuri. Bonyeza hapa ili kujifunza zaidi kuhusu ngazi.