Diabetes symptoms: what is the blood sugar phenomenon at 3 in the morning?

3 AM Blood Sugar. Get details here…

Wednesday, 8th September 2021

It is normal for everyone to wake up once or twice a night to drink water or go to the toilet. After finishing the work, we crawled under the sheets and fell asleep again after a few minutes, completing 8 hours of deep sleep. For those with diabetes, the situation is a bit different.

Most people with diabetes wake up at the same time almost every night, around 3 pm, not because of noise or any other reason, but because of a sudden spike in blood sugar. It occurs for two reasons: the Somogyi effect or the dawn phenomenon.

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The dawn phenomenon

As we know, our body uses glucose for energy, and when you wake up in the morning, you need to have a little extra energy. Therefore, the body begins to use stored glucose to prepare for the next day. At the same time, the liver releases extra glucose into the blood due to growth hormone, cortisol, and catecholamines. It usually occurs around 2 to 3 in the morning to prepare the body for the awakening of the day. Although these events are happening, the dose of diabetes medicine that you took the day before has gradually disappeared. All these phenomena together lead to an increase in blood sugar levels in the morning.

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The Somogyi effect

The second cause of blood sugar in the morning is due to the Somogyi effect, also known as rebound hyperglycemia. This happens when your blood sugar drops too low in the middle of the night and in order to keep you away from extremely low blood sugar levels, your body hormones release this force to the liver to release stored glucose to stabilize. the amount of glucose in the body. But in the case of diabetes, the liver releases a bit of excess glucose, which leads to high sugar levels in the morning.

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?How to tell the difference

The main difference between the two is that the Somogyi effect causes hypoglycemia and then hyperglycemia. One of the easiest ways to find out if spikes in blood sugar are caused by the Somogyi effect is to check blood sugar levels before bedtime and after waking up. If the blood sugar level is low at night, it is due to the Somogyi effect. If it is normal or high, it may be due to the dawn phenomenon. Another point to keep in mind is that when your body has high blood sugar levels, the Somogyi effect can occur at any time of the day.

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?How to control the blood sugar level in the morning

Once you determine what is causing your blood sugar levels to rise, you must take the appropriate steps to control them. You can discuss your condition with your doctor, and he or she may prescribe one of the following options based on your condition.

For the dawn phenomenon:

• Change the time or type of diabetes medicine
• Have a light breakfast
• Increase the dose of the medicine in the morning

 For the Somogyi effect:

• Decrease the dose of the diabetes medicine by the night
• Add carbohydrate-containing snacks before bed
• Change your exercise plan

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

TimesofindiaIndiatimes