Late-night snacks add extra calories, which can lead to weight gain. And, if you snack after your evening meal — especially on foods with carbohydrates — you may wake up the next morning with a high blood sugar level.
How Eating at Night Affects Your Health, Risk for Diabetes. Researchers say eating at night can disrupt blood sugar levels and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have shown that having meals in the evening can cause weight gain and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Try to go 10 to 12 hours each night without eating, Sheth advises. For instance, if you eat breakfast at 8:30 a.m. every morning, that means capping your nighttime meals and snacks between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. each night.
Best and worst time to have dinner for diabetics
People with diabetes should eat dinner between 8 and 9 pm. Eating close to bedtime or late at night must be avoided.
The dawn phenomenon is an early-morning rise in blood sugar, also called blood glucose, in people with diabetes. The dawn phenomenon leads to high levels of blood sugar, a condition called hyperglycemia. It usually happens between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m.
A skipped meal alters the balance between food intake and insulin production, and can cause your blood sugar levels to eventually drop. “For diabetic people dependent on insulin or blood sugar–lowering medication, skipping meals can be more dangerous because it can lead to low blood sugar,” says Pearson.
A: Drinking apple cider vinegar at bedtime can help diabetic people control their blood glucose levels. A diabetic patient should take one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in warm water before sleep. It can also aid in the regulation of fasting blood sugar levels in the morning.
"A low-sugar Greek yogurt with berries and a few nuts is a great balance of protein, fiber, and fat to help keep blood sugar stable, and research shows foods like strawberries and wild blueberries can help improve insulin resistance as well," Harris-Pincus says.
If you take insulin or other diabetes medications, you may sometimes need to snack before bedtime to treat or prevent low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) during the night. If this happens frequently, talk to your doctor.
Some studies suggest that drinking coffee — whether caffeinated and decaffeinated — may actually reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If you already have diabetes, however, the impact of caffeine on insulin action may be associated with higher or lower blood sugar levels.
A large dinner or a snack at bedtime can cause elevated blood sugar levels that last all night, as can too low a dose of insulin with your evening meal. Adjusting your medication or what and when you eat may help. If the data shows you're in range at bedtime, the culprit is likely too little medication.
So people reduce their carb intake, go on a low carbohydrate diet, and focus on eating healthy fats and (in many cases) too much protein. But what this solution crucially fails to address is insulin resistance, which is the true cause of those high blood glucose numbers.
In obese women, eating before sleep has been shown to improve morning appetite but also increase insulin resistance.
Drinking water regularly may rehydrate the blood, lower blood sugar levels, and reduce diabetes risk ( 20 , 21 ). Keep in mind that water and other zero-calorie drinks are best. Avoid sugar-sweetened options, as these can raise blood glucose, drive weight gain, and increase diabetes risk ( 22 , 23 ).
Experts advise drinking 6-8 glasses of water every day for oxygen to flow freely in your body and help the kidneys and colon eliminate waste. What's best, it helps in flushing out excess sugar from your body.
When your blood sugar level gets too high, the quickest way to reduce it is to take fast-acting insulin. Exercising is another fast, effective way to lower blood sugar. In some cases, you should go to the hospital. High blood sugar levels are known as hyperglycemia or high blood glucose.
For low blood sugar between 55-69 mg/dL, raise it by following the 15-15 rule: have 15 grams of carbs and check your blood sugar after 15 minutes. If it's still below your target range, have another serving. Repeat these steps until it's in your target range.
In most cases, doctors ask people to measure fasting blood sugar immediately upon waking and before they have anything to eat or drink. It may also be appropriate to test blood sugar before eating or 2 hours after a meal, which is when blood sugar returns to normal levels.
High blood sugar in the morning may be caused by the Somogyi effect, a condition also called "rebound hyperglycemia." It also may be caused by dawn phenomenon, which is the end result of a combination of natural body changes.
Starvation diet and very-low-calorie diets may induce insulin resistance and overt diabetes mellitus.
In general: Below 5.7% is normal. Between 5.7% and 6.4% is diagnosed as prediabetes. 6.5% or higher on two separate tests indicates diabetes.
When fasting the hormone glucagon is stimulated and this increases plasma glucose levels in the body. If a patient doesn't have diabetes, their body will produce insulin to rebalance the increased glucose levels.
In general, the best time to exercise is one to three hours after eating, when your blood sugar level is likely to be higher. If you use insulin, it's important to test your blood sugar before exercising.