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Type 1 Diabetes Sleep

Coffee_Lover

Coffee_Lover

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,

Does anyone with type 1 struggle to sleep at night. I can't sleep until at least 4-5am?
 
@SueJB perhaps yeah but I love coffee and I stop drinking it after 5pm. And I can't sleep until at least 4-5am so that's at least 9-10 hours.
 
Yes I do and I find it difficult as the day goes on, so tired, even now...................
 
Coffee_Lover said:
@SueJB perhaps yeah but I love coffee and I stop drinking it after 5pm. And I can't sleep until at least 4-5am so that's at least 9-10 hours.
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@Coffee_Lover How about not drinking it after midday and then switch to decaff? Also try tiring yourself out and do lots of physical stuff.
 
I have periods of not sleeping. I discovered, far too recently, I wish I'd know years ago, that high blood sugars mean people with diabetes lose more magnesium in their urine more than other people, so there is a potential for diabetes to cause low magnesium. Magnesium is very important for good sleep.

Not getting to sleep until 4 am is a bit of a problem. I wake up quite frequently at night, check my blood sugar, and then get back to sleep. I started using freestyle libre, and that disrupted my sleep quite a bit, it's getting back under control, but I think my subconscious mind knew my blood sugar was going to go high in the night, and wanted to correct it, because a flatter daily graph just looks so much nicer. So I started waking more easily, and not sleeping properly.

There isn't anything hidden in the back of your mind like a fear of a hypo, that is disrupting sleep, is there?

That's the only two things I can think of, maybe someone else has some better ideas.
 
How is your BG at night?
The only time I struggle to sleep (or wake in the night) is when my BG is too high or too low.
Otherwise, my diabetes has not impact on my sleep.
 
I haven't slept well in as far back as I can remember, after getting a Libre I figured out why I always felt rubbish waking up(dawn phenomenon, that nobody bothered informing me about) but even after for the most part sorting that out, I still don't sleep well. I tried sleeping pills at one point but found them to be useless and I'm hesitant to try more in case I accidentally kill myself.
 
High sugars at night keep me awake, and lack of sleep gives me higher sugars the next day. It’s a vicious circle. But if you can go to bed with a good level, you’ll probably sleep better. I usually wake up at 4am, but that's a whole different saga!
 
I have always struggled with sleep and just as equally waking up in the morning. I take an amino acid called GABA which is great for sleep and kidney function.. I also have half a mirtazepine but if I forget to take it on holiday I can still sleep with 2 teaspoon of GABA powder, if I forget the GABA I won't sleep more than a couple hours even with 2 full tablets. Took zopiclones for years and years but they leave you groggy in the morning and this natural..
 
The best routine for me with sleep is to be in BS range by bedtime, no screen time for at least an hour before bed and if i'm struggling to sleep reading a book always sends me off, keep bedroom cool, no phones, alarm clock turned to the wall, if still struggling a warm bath before bed too.
 
99% of the time I am away as soon as my head hits the pillow.....

I have never had a noticeable effect from caffeine they way others explain it......I always thought this was down to my diabetes.....but I guess I am special....;)
 
How did you sleep last night, @Coffee_Lover ?

novorapidboi26 said:
99% of the time I am away as soon as my head hits the pillow.....

I have never had a noticeable effect from caffeine they way others explain it......I always thought this was down to my diabetes.....but I guess I am special....;)
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Caffeine doesn’t affect me on the BG or sleep front either, I can have a triple espresso and then go for a lovely snooze :D
 
Mel dCP said:
How did you sleep last night, @Coffee_Lover ?


Caffeine doesn’t affect me on the BG or sleep front either, I can have a triple espresso and then go for a lovely snooze :D
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It strange isn't it......apart from a nice taste there is no other effect on my energy levels....or anything like that....same goes with other high caffeine products.....
 
Music gets me off to sleep headphones on relax then reading a book is another one for me asleep before 3rd track or 4th page
 
novorapidboi26 said:
It strange isn't it......apart from a nice taste there is no other effect on my energy levels....or anything like that....same goes with other high caffeine products.....
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I think it just about keeps me awake in the mornings, and I have my last mug of the day with my son when he gets in from school. But if I decide to have a snooze after drinking coffee, I don’t have a problem dropping off. So I suspect it’s mostly routine and psychological.
StephenJ said:
Music gets me off to sleep headphones on relax then reading a book is another one for me asleep before 3rd track or 4th page
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I have a playlist of cello music I put on quietly every night and I’m usually asleep quite quickly. I’ll read my kindle if I can’t, so even if I’m awake, my body is resting.
 
If there was an envy rating I would use it on you @novorapidboi26 @Mel dCP , I could be considered a caffeine addict(I have a coffee maker literally within arms reach of my computers) but all it does is kind of wake me up, it has as far as I can tell zero effect on my ability to fall asleep as I noticed no difference when intentionally cutting it off for a while as an experiment.
I from time to time use some ASMR videos at night in an attempt to fall asleep, but it just makes me calm not sleepy, couldn't fall asleep on a plane with it in my ears either.
 
For years now I sleep only 3 or 4 hours a night and have dark bags under my eyes as a result. I use my DS or now my Kindle Fire to while away the hours when all I would do is listen to my loved one snore from the moment he hits his pillow until the alarm goes off. The amount of books I read is phenomenal. I do sometimes doze off. I fell asleep in my porridge one morning, and toppled over into the cat litter when I I went to the loo one night (no I don't use the cat litter) we had a poorly cat. Peter
 
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