Insulin Issues: How Obstructive Sleep Apnea Affects Type 2 Diabetes

Do you wake up in the morning feeling more drained than when you drifted off the night before, and do you have type 2 diabetes? If so, there’s a good chance that you’re suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. Clinical research shows that about 48 percent of people diagnosed with this type of insulin resistance also suffer from repeated interruptions in their breathing that block their airflow at night.

Thankfully, your sleep dentist can provide treatments to help manage your condition. Continue reading to learn more about the connection between diabetes and sleep apnea, and how your provider can help!

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

This is the most common form of diabetes and occurs when your body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or your cells don’t respond properly to what has been generated, leading to higher blood sugar levels.

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows glucose (sugar) to enter the cells to be used for energy. Type 2 diabetics have cells that resist taking up this ingredient, leaving it to build up in the bloodstream. Your body might overcompensate by producing more insulin to try to provide much-needed nutrients to exhausted cells, increasing blood glucose levels even further.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

This sleep disorder happens when your breath stops and starts repeatedly throughout the night, interrupting the various regenerative processes essential for your body’s well-being. Your system is designed to undergo 4 to 6 repetitions of a sleep cycle consisting of four stages that allow your brain and body to rest and rebuild.

If your airways are blocked by overly relaxed throat muscles or excessive tissues in the back of your mouth, the flow of oxygen stops, resulting in snoring, choking, repeated awakenings, or fragmented sleep.

Does Sleep Apnea Impact My Blood Sugar?

These two conditions might seem unrelated on the surface, but the truth is that one can significantly influence the other. This is partly because when your body is deprived of oxygen, carbon dioxide levels in your bloodstream increase. This impairs your cells’ ability to take up glucose even further, resulting in a higher blood sugar count, compounding the damage already caused by type 2 diabetes.

Fortunately, your dentist can work with your doctors to help procure a sleep apnea diagnosis so they can provide therapies to help manage your health. For instance, CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines deliver a steady stream of oxygen-rich pressurized air to avoid collapsed airways.

That means consulting your sleep dentist to enhance your quality of rest can potentially improve your type 2 diabetes!

Meet the Author

Dr. Deborah Romack has decades of experience increasing patients’ daily quality of life by addressing sleep issues impacting their oral and overall well-being. She earned her dental degree from the Baylor College of Dentistry and then attended numerous trainings to learn about airway obstruction, snoring, OSA, and upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS). She combines a caring approach with state-of-the-art equipment to help identify and treat breathing disorders. She works collaboratively with your primary care physician and other specialists as needed to improve your condition. You can request an appointment on the website or by calling (817) 594-3806.