If you have diabetes and you always wake up at night between 2 and 3 in the morning, it is due to one of these two phenomena

If you have diabetes and often wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning? There are two phenomena that could cause this problem. Let’s see what they are.

Waking up often between 2 and 3 in the morning it is very common among people who suffer from diabetes, as there may be sudden spikes in blood insulin at that precise time causing you to wake up. (Also Read: If you keep waking up at 3am every night you may have one of these 5 problems)

There can be two causes that cause these irregular insulin levels:Somogyi effect or the phenomenon of dawn. Let’s try to understand what they are in more detail.

The phenomenon of dawn

As soon as we wake up we need a lot of energy and for this reason our body uses the glucose stored to produce it, in addition to the extra glucose released into the blood by thegrowth hormonedal cortisol and from catecholamines. This is usually done in the middle of the night, around 2:00 to 3:00 to prepare the body to get up and face the day.

During this precise time, the effect of the drugs used by diabetic people begins to disappear, leading toincreased blood sugar level right in the morning.

The Somogyi effect

Name that derives from the chemist Michael Somogyi, theSomogyi effect o rebound hyperglycemia is the body’s response tohypoglycemia during the night, which can be caused by low carbohydrate intake in the latter part of the day or by excessive insulinization. The liver responds by releasing stored glucose in the body, but in the case of diabetics the liver releases extra glucose which causes high blood sugar in the morning.

Differences and remedies

The main ones differences between the two phenomena are:

• the Somogyi effect leads to hypoglycemia initially and then to hyperglycemia, so it would be helpful to check your sugar levels before going to sleep and check them again as soon as you wake up. If the levels are normal or high before bedtime, it means that you are suffering from the phenomenon of dawn;
• The Somogyi effect can then occur at any time of the day when your body has a high blood sugar level.

As for remedies, we always recommend contact your primary care physician and evaluate the situation together. In any case, there are two ways of intervening depending on whether it is the dawn phenomenon or the Somogyi effect.

For the phenomenon of dawn it is necessary:

For the Somogyi effect, however, it is necessary to:

• decrease the dose of diabetes medications at night;
• add a carbohydrate-laden snack before bed;
• change the training program.

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