How are Type 2 Diabetes and Sleep Apnea Related?

Lawrence Greenblatt, MD

Information from Medical News Today

Sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are two health conditions that are connected in a two-way street. This means that not only can sleep apnea make blood sugar levels worse for people with T2DM, but having T2DM can also make it more likely for someone to get sleep apnea. Sleep apnea happens when someone's breathing stops and starts during sleep, which can cause disruptions in deep sleep or even wake them up often. T2DM occurs when the body doesn't use insulin well and leads to high blood sugar, which can cause other health problems.

Research shows that a lot of people with T2DM also have sleep apnea. This could be because both conditions are linked to being overweight. Extra weight, especially around the neck, can make it hard to breathe at night and make the body less responsive to insulin. Also, T2DM can make it harder for someone's body to control breathing, which might lead to sleep apnea.

It's very important to know if someone has both sleep apnea and T2DM because they can affect each other. To find out if someone has sleep apnea, doctors might ask them to do a sleep study, which checks things like breathing, brain waves, and oxygen levels while they sleep. For T2DM, doctors use blood tests to see if someone's blood sugar is too high. Knowing the signs of sleep apnea, like loud snoring or feeling really tired during the day, can help people get the right testing and treatment.

To take care of both sleep apnea and T2DM, people might need to make changes to how they live, like eating healthier and exercising. Sometimes, they might need medicines like metformin, insulin, or other injection medication to help with T2DM. For sleep apnea, a CPAP machine can help keep the airways open at night. If a CPAP mask is too hard to use, there are mouthpieces that can help too. Losing weight can make a big difference in managing both conditions and lead to better health overall. It's important to handle both sleep apnea and T2DM well to stay healthy.