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Sleeping (Or not!)

Zinadane

Well-Known Member
Messages
330
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
High and low sugar levels!
I’ve not been a great sleeper for many years, and I know this can be a problem area for many type 1s. Since moving onto Libre CGM 2 years ago my BG has been much improved but to be honest my sleeping is now even worse. I find that controlling my BG with libre CGM is so much easier, but it does tend to become a continuous process which for me then often carries on through the night.

Quite often I am my own worst enemy at night-time. For eg. taking a correction dose which, I then find out in 2 hours’ time I didn’t need! Or at worst eating too late and then spending the next 3-4 hours waiting to see if my levels are good. I know stupid!

But what I’m saying is, it really does become difficult just to put your libre numbers to bed and forget them. Go to sleep and wake up 8 hours later (I wish!)

I do all the usual stuff like exercise, reading, try to settle down etc. But I really think I need some calming/sleeping medication to help. Have any others been prescribed anything to help?
 
Hello @Zinadane

Personally I think with the amount of stuff our brains have to process with t1d that it can easily affect sleep.

I am ok but since menopause I definitely sleep less now, was always a good 8+hours, now lucky to get 7, I try to eat a good 3-4 hours before bed, I have my control down to a quick CGM check before bed and anything 9mmol/l and lower and I can sleep easy, however I do use a tandem slim pump too with control IQ and this has certainly helped sleep in so much as I know my pump is keeping my levels stable during sleep now as it controls my bg levels in conjunction with the Dexcom G6.

Perhaps try to be more disciplined before taking the correction or eating earlier ? I don't think medication is wise to aid sleep as it doesn't help produce the right sleep quality we need, I would aim to try doing some meditation before bed instead if I was struggling, I can normally drift off to sleep with the right meditation no problem, also have a go at the US army's technique: https://www.forces.net/military-life/fall-asleep-2-minutes-help-military-sleep-method
 
Thanks @Juicyj!
Of course you are correct, on some days more discipline is certainly required.
I'm an ocd type of guy, where most minor things tend to blow into a complete storm in my head!
I'm doing yoga and I attempt meditation (with little success)
My pattern is just so broken at the moment.
I was wondering if a GP would give me some medicinal aids just to remind my brain/body what sleep is again.
 
It's also easy to fall into the trap of over thinking things, I try and treat each day as a new day/fresh start, what happened before has gone etc, yoga is a great exercise, however meditation requires some mental discipline too, I started with a group and that helped to get the brain into it, it does take practice to get into the rhythm of it though so like anything takes time to build. It's best to see your GP and see what they suggest.
 
My sleep is pretty poor at the moment. Mainly due to night time highs which I am taking correction doses for.
I am getting really wierd highs at bedtime which can go on through the night.
I am wondering can sleep deprivation increase insulin resisatance, especially at nightime?
Seems to be a vicious circle for me at the moment!
 
Hi @Zinadane. As a type2 I can't comment on the diabetes stuff but all the tips and info in the book "Sleep Smarter" by Shawn Stevenson did help me get a better nights sleep when I was about to ask for GPs help.
 
As a former 35 year shift worker I could sleep on a chickens lip , however after retirement I have struggled somewhat , I was told by a professional that after 35 years of shift my body clock is knackered , with regard diabetes I don’t really think about , I’m definitely not paranoid about blood sugars should they go out of range for a short period and I try not to over think it ! The Libre system is a marvellous developement but can lead to information overload , and if you try to follow all the info your brain will say right thats oit I’m having a day off, this can lead to stress etc , which will definitely lead to problems sleeping , diabetes is a lifelong issue , and we have to and find out what works best for us , I’m quite lucky to have quite a laid back attitude to everything and I think that’s the key , it’s so easy to say and so hard to do but it works for me and even with a knackered body clock I still sleep better than most .
 
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I don’t know what you eat or when but I never eat anything after my evening meal, this seems to calm everything down before bed, I am also afraid of night time hypos so maybe that motivates me to not eat late, just an idea, I have been an insomniac for years so I feel your pain but my no sleep isn’t related to diabetes, I just can’t sleep well or long. I do however get to see all the Netflix stuff my wife doesn’t fancy so every cloud I guess
 
Just found this thread. The thing to remember is that we are all different, and what works for one might be very deleterious for someone else. (re not eating before bed). I've slept badly for many years as a result of an injury, fortunately I no-longer have to work. With libre2 I developed a dextrose habit at night when the alarm went off (if I'm asleep, natural reaction is to panic and take dextrose without getting the meter and fingerprickers out, and then stay awake to see if the level improves - sometimes it seems to need a *lot* of dextrose, according to the libre2, and then eventually the level spikes. If I later find the levle has excessively spiked I too tend to take a corrective dose, and mostly overcorrect.

My experience of the libre2 is that,at least outside the 3.9 to 10 mmol range, it overestimates high readings, and underestimates low readings. and don't get me started on the trend arrow - about as accurate as the weather forecast for the next hour.
 
I have been going high overnight, and taking correction doses, which doesn't help sleep - I'm either worried it's too much, or too little, or if I wake up and look at my watch and see I'm high I then feel I should fix it (light on, injection, etc), or I actually go low and need to eat. Not ideal, I feel your pain.

My current conclusion is that my insulin sensitivity has changed for supper, so I need to take more and also deal with any upwards trends much earlier and more aggressively so that I'm ideally stable and if I start running low I can eat before bed and then not need a bedtime bolus.

With all that said, for the past couple of days I've not needed even my standard 1:10 ratio's worth of insulin for supper, so perhaps it's all going to change once again.
 
Agree on the trend arrow being misleading.
The nearest real-time is juggluco, which updates every minute. So I will always look at that and decide for myself on the trend.
 
Hi i feel ive slept terribly for years. I wake up so many times. Good control or bad control seems irrelevant. I find the shuggah app marginally better as i can check my bloods when i wake by looking at my phone/watch rather than having the extra process of scanning. But still i would love a better nights sleep.

An ex diabetic doctor of mine suggested melatonin It was illegal at the time in the uk but he told me it was easy to buy on the internet. I bought it and it made me feel too drowsy the next day and also i think it made things worse as i got into a stage of over thinking. "what if this means i wont know im going low" etc and this became a spiral. So i stopped using it.

Would love to hear any diabetic specific tips rather than the standard sleep plan tips.

Cheers
 
Not being a good sleeper and also having T1d is not a great combination!
For sure my habit of good sleep is completely broke.
Stable bg is definately a pre-requisite.
But I will still always wake up once or twice, just from habit.
Then the struggle to get back to sleep each time.
I will sometimes take a really small dose of Dormicum, about 1/4 tablet so only 3-4mg, basically nothing but it does work for me.
Getting the Dormicum is tricky, cause my GP is not interested.
 
How is your sleeping getting on?

My wife is having shoulder issues and i was suggested by someone she trys CBD. We bought some ******* from holland and barrett. i tried one last sunday and have not repeated but have had a good week of sleep. may be complete coincidence and im not suggesting you should take one but am interested if anyone else on here has any experience of CBD? i feel ive read it on here before but have put it in the search bar and nothing comes up.
 
I cannot comment on type 1 sleep patterns but unless I am having a bad night, I am tucked up at 9:00pm and I usually watch tv for about 15 mins then that's it, I am out like a light! However I can wake between 5:00am and 6:00am ish. Never happened when I was undiagnosed so perhaps its the lchf that's doing it, or menopause or just that I can live off limited hours of sleep. Hubbys suffers really badly due to health issues which can be difficult at times. He wears a mask and ear plugs, if anyone walked in the bedroom he would be oblivious and I would have to fend the the intruder off
 
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