Can the lack of sleep cause diabetes and hypertension?
There have recent studies in the past few months suggesting that the lack of sleep is associated with diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension). The key word here is “associated” and not “caused by”. It’s difficult to determine what are the causes for someones condition in life, since there are so many variables at play. So, always consider that when reading
the results of most research.
Lack of sleep isn’t going to cause diabetes or hypertension; it’s going to be a whole slew of co-factors that lead someone down
that path. There are some obvious ones such as one’s diet and how much physical movement they get. But just how
important is sleep? How could it set up someone to be predisposed to diabetes or hypertension.
Every night you go to sleep, your body gets the rest that it needs. If you forgo the rejuvenation of your body, then you
begin to overwork certain body systems. What happens when we don’t get the adequate amount of sleep that we need?
We’re typically groggy the next morning. We don’t have the same amount of mental stamina to get us through a typical
day. Our brains, spinal cords, and nerves make up the nervous system. Sleep drastically affects the nervous system,
which is connected to all the other systems in the body. The nervous system is broken up into two components: the
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system is the “fight or flight” response
when we are in danger, which the parasympathetic nervous system is activated while we are resting. If one experiences
high stress, then the sympathetic nervous system is overly activated making it difficult to sleep. How is this related to
diabetes and hypertension? The sympathetic nervous system also increases blood glucose, commonly known as blood
sugar, to help feed organs such as muscle so that they have the energy to react in a stressful situation. Adding a diet high
in sugar and physical inactivity and this sets one up for blood glucose so high, that it gets into type II diabetic
range. The sympathetic nervous system also tightens blood vessels, which increases pressure in them causing
hypertension.
As you can see, it’s not just about the amount of sleep you get, but also the diet you eat, the physical activity in your life,
and how you handle stress. Eating a whole foods diet high in vegetables and fruit, getting aerobic exercise 5 days a week
and being able to breathe and relax in situations that are stressful for you will go a long way in helping you prevent
diabetes and hypertension.
In health,
Dr. Jimmy Magiasis
www.inspiredhealth.net