Sleep: an emerging therapeutic target in diabetes care
While diabetes mellitus has been described as a lifestyle disorder, diet and physical activity are not the only lifestyle factors affecting diabetes. Available data suggest that sleep and sleep disorders influence diabetes mellitus but unfortunately this has received less attention until recently. Nishant Raizada and colleagues published a paper in the International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries under the title “Sleep: an emerging therapeutic target in diabetes care”. The summary of this paper is given below:
Objective:
To elaborate on sleep disorders in diabetes patients.
Method:
The paper summarized the findings from currently available evidence and scientific and medical knowledge on sleep disorders in diabetic patients.
Findings:
Many studies have found an association between a short duration of sleep and type 2 diabetes. Secondly, poor quality of sleep or sleep disorders are associated with increased risk of GDM, higher HbA1c, Obesity, BP, and increased mortality risk and complication in type 2 diabetes patients. Decreased sleep duration and quality were found to cause higher glycemic variability, greater stress, and depression in type 1 diabetic patients.
While some studies found that polyphenols from fruits and nuts help to improve sleep quality in T2DM patients, this should be further investigated. In patients with sleep disturbances due to coexisting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation was found to improve HbA1c, reduce insulin resistance, and improve daytime sleepiness. In patients without OSA, non-pharmacological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, structured sleep education program, aerobic exercise training, etc. have been shown to have a beneficial effect on sleep.
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