Can Lack of Sleep Affect Fasting Blood Sugar?

Sleep can impact how the body responds to insulin. Evidence suggests that poor sleep can negatively affect blood sugar levels (causing them to be elevated). People who self-report habitually sleeping less than seven hours per night are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that occurs when the body either doesn’t produce sufficient insulin or doesn’t use insulin properly causing blood sugar (glucose) levels to rise (hyperglycemia). 

Blood sugar levels normally rise in the morning due to what is called “the dawn phenomenon” in which hormones, including cortisol and growth hormone, signal the liver to boost the production of glucose, which provides energy to help people wake up.

• In healthy people, this release of hormones triggers special cells in the pancreas to release insulin to maintain blood sugar levels.
• In people with diabetes, they do not produce enough insulin or don’t use the insulin properly to counter this rise in blood sugar, which results in elevated blood sugar levels in the morning. 

Sleep can impact how the body responds to insulin. Evidence suggests that poor sleep can negatively affect blood sugar levels (causing them to be elevated). People who self-report habitually sleeping less than seven hours per night are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Some studies have shown that short sleep duration is associated with decreased insulin sensitivity.