A while back I posted about going in for a sleep study. I recently went in for my follow up visit to get the results.
I was floored to hear that I was waking myself up almost 47 times per hour (46.9 to be exact), and would stop breathing altogether for up to 54 seconds at a time. I was getting a total of 27 minutes of restful sleep each night, which is about 6% of my total sleep. The normal person gets about 25% total sleep time in the restful stage. No wonder I often felt tired!
They talked about it being a combination of upper airway and lower airway problems, and recommended CPAP therapy. If it meant feeling better I was all for it. I realized that I may have been living at half-speed for many years now, and was anxious to get a taste of the good life.
Another day later I was sent home with a CPAP machine and accessories. I strapped it on that very same night. While it is weird sleeping with a contraption on your face, I felt a difference the very next day. It is getting better and better every night.
How does this relate to diabetes?
Everything is whacko when I am tired. I see this in a few key ways that affect my diabetes management efforts.
- When I’m tired I want to eat, eat, eat. Junk food in particular.
- When I’m tired I am much less resilient and am easily swayed to make unhealthy decisions.
- I am much less active when tired. Duh!
- My state of mind is distracted, depressed, and not diabetes focused.
And those are just some of the things that come to mind. In a nutshell, I’m a mess.
I’m glad to be sleeping better, and anxious to get my CPAP machine dialed in and calibrated for my needs (which calls for another sleep study next week).
Thank you to all that have offered information and support – I appreciate it!