You’ve hit the mid-afternoon slump. Your eyelids sag with drowsiness. The words on your computer screen blur a bit. You yawn every couple of minutes. You have a few options: a quick nap, rest with your eyes closed for a bit, walk around or grab that afternoon cup of joe.
While a thirty minute nap has been shown to give your mind a reboot to increase alertness, creativity and productivity, longer naps may leave you feeling groggier than before. Real restorative sleep, however, comes in the total silence of deep sleep.
Deep sleep not only recharges our mind and boosts our cognitive abilities, but it also increases our body’s ability to manage insulin. A study published in the Annals of Epidemiology reports diabetics who get less than six hours of sleep a night are three times more likely to report high blood sugar levels.
Research also links increased weight gain and obesity with less sleep.
In addition to managing your diabetes with the proper medication, diet and exercise, take a look at how your sleep schedule impacts your blood sugar levels. If you aren’t getting eight hours of sleep every night, make an effort to rethink your sleeping plan.
Need some help? We have a few tips:
- Keep regular sleep and wake routines (even on the weekends)
- Cut out caffeine and large meals late in the day.
- Schedule afternoon exercise three to four hours before bedtime.
- Turn off electronics before going to bed. Screens can trick your body into believing it’s still light outside.
- Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet.
- Invest in a white noise machine or run a fan to block out distracting noise.
- Don’t obsess about sleep. If you can’t sleep, read under soft light until you are sleepy but avoid turning on the television, computer or cell phone.
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