| If You Have Diabetes, You May Not be Getting a Proper Night's Rest
Tri-City Voice, February 25, 2009
Washington Hospital Seminar Examines Connection Between Sleep Apnea and Diabetes
Most people know diabetes is a
serious disease. But did you know a
common sleeping disorder can make type 2
diabetes worse, or even cause it? If you
snore or continually wake up feeling
tired, you could have sleep apnea.
"It is critical for people with type
2 diabetes to pay attention to their
sleep patterns," said Dr. Nitun Verma, a
sleep medicine specialist and Medical
Director at the Washington Township
Center for Sleep Disorders. "Sleep apnea
could be contributing to your diabetes."
He will present an upcoming seminar
titled, "Difficulty Falling to Sleep?
You Could Have Sleep Apnea," part of
Washington Hospital's free Diabetes
Matters Education Series. The seminar is
scheduled for Thursday, March 5, from 7
to 8 p.m., at the Conrad E. Anderson,
M.D. Auditorium at Washington West, 2500
Mowry Avenue, in Fremont. To register
for the seminar, call (800) 963-7070.
Participants are encouraged to stay for
the diabetes support group that will
take place immediately after the
lecture. (See the box below for more
information about the support group.)
Verma will provide an overview of
sleep apnea, including what causes it
and some of the signs to look for in
sleep and during waking hours. The most
common symptom is snoring.
"It's very unusual to snore and not
have sleep apnea," he said.
Sleep apnea occurs when the airways
become blocked during sleep, causing you
to stop breathing repeatedly during the
night. Each time, the brain reacts and
jolts the body awake so it will take a
breath. People with sleep apnea are
awakened by this reaction sometimes
hundreds of times a night, making it
impossible to get a good night's rest.
Verma will explain how this impacts
the body's ability to efficiently use
insulin, a hormone that allows our
bodies to move sugar out of the blood
and into the parts of the body that need
it. The inability to respond to insulin
is what causes type 2 diabetes. When
this process is not working correctly,
blood sugar levels rise.
To make matters worse, the two seem
to feed on each other, according to
Verma. People with diabetes experience
changes in their body's reflexes that
cause their throat muscles to relax more
during sleep, a main cause of sleep
apnea.
"Sleep apnea makes diabetes worse and
diabetes increases the risk of sleep
apnea," he said.
Similar Risk Factors
Both type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea
share the same risk factors, the main
one being obesity. People who are
overweight or obese are much more likely
to have diabetes and sleep apnea because
the extra weight can lead to insulin
resistance and the extra fat around the
neck contributes to sleep apnea.
In addition, these shared risk
factors are compounded with both
disorders, increasing the chances for
developing other serious complications.
Being overweight or obese can lead to
other adverse metabolic effects such as
high blood pressure and so can sleep
apnea. High blood pressure combined with
diabetes dramatically increases the risk
for heart attack and stroke.
"It's a very bad cycle," Verma said.
"They feed on each other and can make
health conditions much worse."
Anyone who thinks they could have
sleep apnea should take Washington
Hospital's quiz at
www.washingtonsleep.com. The
one-of-a-kind quiz was created by
experts and can accurately assess your
chances of having sleep apnea.
"Anyone with type 2 diabetes should
be asking themselves if sleep apnea
plays a role," Verma said. "If you have
type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea, we may
be able to help you decrease your
medications or possibly even get off
them if we can successfully treat your
sleep apnea."
To learn more about diabetes and
sleep apnea, register for the seminar at
(800) 963-7070. To find out about other
diabetes education classes, call (510)
745-6556.
Diabetes Support Group
Success in managing diabetes has a
lot to do with receiving and giving
social support. For people who suffer
from diabetes, Washington Hospital's
Outpatient Diabetes Program offers a
support group that allows people to have
in-depth conversations about what's
happening in their lives and share
information about dealing with diabetes
in a positive and caring environment.
The support group meetings are held at 8
p.m. every month immediately following
the hour-long Diabetes Matters lecture
which begins at 7 p.m. the first
Thursday of each month.
Family members and friends are also
welcome. For more information about the
support group or other classes and
programs, call the Diabetes Services
program at (510) 745-6556 or visit us on
the web:
www.whhs.com/services/diabetes.
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