What Should We Do Differently to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes?

“Even when you are healthy, sleeping too much or too little can have detrimental effects on your health,” lead researcher Femke Rutters told the press. “This research shows how important sleep is to a key aspect of health – glucose metabolism.” Unfortunately, this study just tells us that there is a relationship between diabetes and sleep, not what to do about it. Here are a few humble suggestions.

• If you are a man, and you are tired all the time, needing more sleep than you used to, make sure you get your blood sugar levels tested at least once or twice a year even if you don't have diabetes. It's important that your doctor measure your blood sugar levels when you are not fasting at least occasionally. Your pancreas retains the ability to release enough insulin to normalize blood sugar levels overnight for many years after insulin-producing beta cells start dying from the stress of overproduction. By the time your fasting blood sugar levels are high, there is little or no chance or reversing the course of the disease. If you take corrective measures (changes in diet, activity, and maybe a medication like metformin prescribed by your doctor) when your after-meal blood sugar levels are high, then you are more likely to avoid ever developing the full-blown disease.
• If you are a woman, neither a busy lifestyle nor an occasional vacation is likely to cause any harm to your metabolism before menopause. Once you pass menopause, however, then your risk of diabetes changes dramatically with the changes in hormone production. High blood pressure during pregnancy (preeclampsia) and diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) may not pose any additional risk of diabetes until you go through menopause. PCOS (polycystic ovarian disease) increases risk of diabetes both before and after menopause, but especially after a hysterectomy or oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries). It's also important for you to get at least occasional tests of your blood sugar levels when you aren't fasting. The blood sugar numbers that cause concern when you have eaten in the prior two hours are higher than those that cause concern when you have been fasting overnight, but there are also diagnostic standards for these "post-prandial" blood sugar levels. You will detect diabetes much sooner, when it is still possible to do something about it, if you get both post-prandial and fasting blood sugar testing. Once or twice a year is enough if you don't have a family history of diabetes.

If you are someone who can't become pregnant, your body's reaction to too little sleep or too much sleep may resemble insulin resistance. If you get too little or too much sleep for too long, obesity, blood lipid problems, blood sugar problems, and type 2 diabetes are likely on the way.

READ Diabetes: Early Signs & Symptoms You Can't Ignore

Can you sleep or not-sleep your way to diabetes freedom? Not really. However, if you have apnea, changes in the anatomy of your throat that cause you simply to stop breathing when you sleep, treatment can make a huge difference in your quality of life--and the quality of life of your bed partner. Treating apnea also is linked to a lower risk of diabetes and diabetes complications. Sleep to feel good the next day, but monitor your health on a regular basis.