Dawn Phenomenon or Somogyi Effect – Why is Your Morning Blood Sugar High?

One cussed factor a few life with diabetes is that you just’re extra seemingly than to not expertise morning excessive blood sugar ranges. 

It may be irritating to get up with excessive blood sugar while you really feel as if you happen to’ve accomplished nothing flawed (to not point out that you just haven’t even eaten something but for the day!). 

What may be the reason for these hyperglycemic episodes? Is it Daybreak Phenomenon? The Somogyi Impact? A bent insulin pump cannula or consuming whereas sleepwalking? 

This text will describe the totally different the reason why your morning blood sugar could also be excessive and what you are able to do about it. 

What is taken into account excessive blood sugar within the morning? 

All the time discuss along with your physician about your particular person blood sugar objectives, as a result of they’ll fluctuate throughout one’s lifespan (and differ relying on whether or not or not you’re pregnant, sick, or going via a hormonal or life change). 

Usually, nonetheless, fasting blood sugar ranges for somebody with diabetes ought to be someplace between 70-130 mg/dL. 

Excessive blood sugar ranges routinely above which might be thought-about hyperglycemic. Something above 180 mg/dL after your preliminary meal of the day is the benchmark for hyperglycemic blood sugars when not fasting. 

What’s the Daybreak Phenomenon? 

The Daybreak Phenomenon is a organic course of that dates again to prehistoric occasions. It developed to happen so people have extra vitality within the morning (and thus extra sugar within the blood) to gas their days..  

The Daybreak Phenomenon is a hormonal shift within the physique of the in a single day launch of counter-regulatory hormones, like progress hormone, adrenaline, cortisol, epinephrine, and glucagon. 

This ends in morning insulin resistance that may end up in increased blood sugar ranges between 2 a.m. and eight a.m., however it might offset your whole day, and depart you pissed off, hungry, and affected by extended excessive blood sugar ranges that aren’t wholesome over the long-term. 

Individuals with out diabetes have Daybreak Phenomenon as effectively, however their pancreases enhance insulin secretion to forestall excessive blood sugar ranges. 

It’s estimated that over 50% of individuals with diabetes undergo from Daybreak Phenomenon. Nonetheless, it’s extra frequent in folks with kind 1 diabetes than folks with kind 2 diabetes, and most noticeable in people who find themselves on insulin remedy. 

What’s the Somogyi Impact? 

The Somogyi Impact, then again, is the physique’s response to a low blood sugar skilled in a single day, the place the liver releases glucagon to deliver the blood sugar again up in an emergency state of affairs, normally leading to extraordinarily excessive blood sugar ranges. 

This may also be known as Rebound Hypoglycemia. 

This is quite common in folks with insulin-dependent diabetes, as a result of manually dosing insulin to handle blood sugar ranges isn’t an ideal science, and experiencing low blood sugar ranges when you sleep is attribute of a life lived with diabetes. 

The Somogyi Impact is most typical in folks with kind 1 diabetes and insulin-treated kind 2 diabetes. 

How are you going to inform the distinction between the 2 situations?

Telling the distinction between the 2 situations may be key to serving to stop the ensuing excessive blood sugar ranges from harming you within the first place. 

Should you put on a steady glucose monitor (CGM) system, scan via the hours throughout which you had been asleep. 

Should you see a gentle rise of blood sugar between the hours of two a.m. and eight a.m. over a number of days or even weeks, whereas having regular blood sugar ranges of between 70-130 mg/dL earlier than you went to mattress, you’re most definitely experiencing the Daybreak Phenomenon. 

Should you scan via your blood sugar ranges and see a pointy drop in blood sugar in a single day after which a sudden spike (with out treating your hypoglycemia), indicators result in the Somogyi Impact.

This occurs when your liver dumps glucose into the bloodstream to forestall a protracted and harmful low blood sugar. 

Should you don’t have a CGM, you’ll have to get up in the course of the evening between 2 a.m. and eight a.m. and check a number of occasions to see the place your blood sugars are trending. 

You could need to set some alarms to get up hourly to see whether or not you’re going low throughout these hours or inching increased to find out whether or not you’re experiencing the Daybreak Phenomenon or the Somogyi Impact. 

How are you going to stop these situations from occurring? 

Since these two situations have totally different causes, they are going to require totally different interventions to resolve. 

Some methods to assist stop the onset of the Daybreak Phenomenon embody:

• Don’t eat a carbohydrate-rich snack or meal earlier than mattress
• Train earlier than mattress as an alternative of within the morning or in the course of the day 
• Should you’re on a number of every day injections, change your long-acting insulin to a night dose as an alternative of a morning dose, so it’s not really fizzling out all through the evening (or cut up your dose in two – morning and night)
• Discuss to your physician about growing your insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio and correction issue (CF) to be extra aggressive in your bolusing
• Use an insulin pump and set extra aggressive basal charges all through the evening 

Some methods to forestall the onset of the Somogyi Impact embody: 

• Train within the morning as an alternative of within the afternoon or night
• Have a decrease carbohydrate snack or meal within the night, so that you’ll have much less insulin on board at bedtime 
• Pair a excessive fats, excessive protein snack at bedtime, to assist preserve blood sugar ranges (suppose peanut butter with celery)
• Use an insulin pump and benefit from briefly decreasing your basal charges in a single day to keep away from low blood sugar ranges 
• Discuss along with your physician about adjusting your insulin-to-carbohydrate and correction issue (CF) ratios to be much less aggressive within the night to keep away from low blood sugar ranges 

You possibly can be taught extra about methods for avoiding excessive morning blood sugars in our information: Learn how to Keep away from Excessive Morning Blood Sugar

Conclusions

Each the Daybreak Phenomenon and the Somogyi Impact are frequent situations skilled by individuals who have diabetes, particularly insulin-dependent diabetes. 

Though the situations end in the identical final result, excessive blood sugar ranges within the morning, they’ve vastly totally different causes. 

The Daybreak Phenomenon is a pure organic launch of hormones between the hours of two a.m. and eight a.m. that will increase insulin resistance and means increased blood sugar ranges upon waking.

The Somogyi Impact, then again, is a rebound excessive blood sugar, ensuing from the liver dumping glucose into the bloodstream to deal with a extreme low blood sugar skilled in a single day. 

These points may be irritating, and over time, might contribute to diabetes issues, which ought to be averted in any respect prices. Whereas not fully preventable, their severity may be mitigated with some strategic techniques. 

Taking preventive measures earlier than going to mattress, akin to both growing or reducing your basal and bolus settings and the time at which they’re taken, adjusting your bedtime snack and night meals, and determining what time in the course of the day is greatest for train will help you mitigate these frequent however cussed morning excessive blood sugar ranges. 

Discuss along with your physician earlier than adjusting your insulin doses to determine essentially the most applicable settings for you and your well being objectives.