Sleep Is Essential For Type 2 Diabetics; Health Hazards Of Disrupted Sleep You Must Know

People with diabetes need to take care of a lot of things when it comes to managing their condition. They need to eat only those foods which do not contribute to an increase in blood sugar levels, and exercise regularly in order to manage their weight and prevent weight gain. And what's more is that they also need to take care of their sleep patterns and sleep quality. According to a new study, diabetics will take more time to heal skin wounds in case they have a disrupted sleep pattern.

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Researchers at University of Tennessee, Knoxville conducted a study on overweight mice with Type 2 diabetes. It was found that overweight mice with type 2 diabetes who had disrupted sleep needed more time to heal skin wounds as compared to mice which also had disrupted sleep but didn't have Type 2 diabetes.

Disrupted sleep can delay wound healing process in people with Type 2 Diabetes
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Results of the study - published in journal Sleep - confirmed that sleep plays an important role in wound healing in obese mice suffering from type 2 diabetes.

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As part of the experiment, scientists worked on obese mice that had features of Type 2 diabetes and compared them to healthy mice with normal weight. At the time when mice from both groups were deeply anesthetised, they got a small surgical wound on the skin of their back.

Scientists worked towards analysing how long did the wounds take to heal under a normal sleep schedule and a disrupted or repeatedly interrupted sleep schedule.

Mice with Type 2 diabetes with interrupted sleep took 13 days more for their wounds to achieve 50% healing. As compared to mice with normal-weight healthy mice, they achieved 50% wound healing in around 5 days only.

Taking proper sleep is important for people with Type 2 diabetes
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People with Type 2 diabetes tend to have high glucose levels along with poor blood circulation and easily occurring nerve damage. All of these conditions make the body more vulnerable to infections, especially after a surgery or operation. Furthermore, sleep disorders can weaken the immune system and slow down the skin healing process.

Other ways in which disrupted sleep can harm you:

1. Lack of sleep or disrupted sleep can cause accidents. Drowsiness can slow down the reaction time as much as drunk driving does.

2. Sleep plays an important role in determining your thinking and learning. It can affect your attention, problem solving capability, alertness, concentration and reasoning.

3. Lack of sleep or suffering from sleep disorders can make you prone to heart failure, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke and of course, diabetes.

4. Disrupted or interrupted sleep patterns can reduce your sex drive.

Also read: 7 Ways Sleep Deprivation Could Harm You