is it natural to feel sleepy every afternoon

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williammcd

williammcd

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
thought i would pick your brains on this problem thats bothered me for a long time ,

every day about the same time a feel all my energy drain away its a rotten feeling like watching bath water disappear down the plug hole ,it usually happens about the same time every day between 3-5, Ive asked my doc a number of times he puts it down to my weight I'm 17st ,i know, I'm about 4st over weight me bad lol,when i first felt it happen i used to take a reading of my bs and it was never up or down always round about 6-8 so i don't think its that ,recently i was working on a short contract and even then it happened as usual a few times ,luckily i was in a minibus so i could just close my eyes for a while and wake up feeling ok,

what i would like to know is,is it a natural thing diabetics do, i can remember my old mum used to have a rest in the afternoon but she died a couple of years before i was diagnosed ,i sometimes wish i could pick her brain for info on be diabetic,lol
 
It's natural even without Diabetes.......from what I know, tiredness is one of the indicators of Diabetes......so my answer would be 'yes'.
 
Glad I'm not the only one! Despite good HbA1c, weight in healthy BMI range, sleeping well at night, mid-50s - I find that I need a nap most afternoons and it is not related to high or low blood glucose. Reported it to my GP so off for a battery of blood tests on Friday to check thyroid, liver, kidneys functioning ok and for anaemia.
 
I used to get this all the time, long before diagnosis. I think there is a correlation with the type of food you eat at lunchtime and what your own personal biorhythms give you a propensity for - some people are 'morning' people, some peak later in the day. I used to have extreme trouble keeping my eyes open some afternoons, especially if I was bored - almost narcoleptic! I think the fitter you are, the better you are able to maintain energy levels through the day, so an added incentive to help you work towards that healthier lifestyle!🙂

Might be worth discussing with your doctor if you didn't experience this pre-diagnosis.
 
Sounds to me like a post-meal BG drop. High BGs can make you feel tired to the extent that you fall asleep involuntarily as most people know.

However if you have a high BG peak after lunch then drop down again to normal levels you can feel tired as it gets back down towards non-diabetic numbers.

Check your BG at 1 hour and 2 hours after eating. You may be getting into double figures. So when your BG falls during the afternoon to normal levels, your body thinks it has no energy, relatively speaking and starts to get conservative.
 
phew! im not alone also despite the fact i have mondays and tuesdays off i always feel totally shattered about 4 o clock and go and have a lie down either in bed or on the sofa,(nothing to do with the fact im up till midnight )🙄
 
I thought it was just me. I get up very early to boot (around 4.30-5). When I asked if there was anything I could do to relieve this my GP suggetsed I had an afternoon nap, but I work full time!

Also been suggested is to eat a banana and some slow release carbs, but if you are on insulin you might have to cover this with a shot.

I find it helps to have a glass of water, or a small glass of fruit juice. Energy drinks work for a while, but once they wear off I feel worse.
 
I get this everyday. My colleagues call it my post lunch slump! (3-4pm ish)

I get very tired, almost to the point where i cant keep my eyes open. For me it is very much linked to higher BGs, I have to be careful what type of carbs i have for lunch. But if I dont have any I hypo. For me its a very fine balance which I havent mastered yet.
 
great thread and posts...i always thought it was just me who felt like that, although has got better recently (since joining forum!!)...i remember pre diaganoises (most of my adult life!) staring enviously at long distant lorry drivers cabs thinking how lucky to be able to take a bed with you everywhere you go HAHA...Got a interview this afternoon selling BIG BEDS...what a perfect place for a D to work heehee:D
 
Perfectly normal. Seems to be more readily accepted by diabetics and the distributed clinic blurb.
A "power nap" is in fact recommended for most normal folk (except when driving vehicles without beds! )
The most dangerous time for driving is about 1 hour after lunch; diabetic or non diabetic.
 
I'm the same. A couple of hours after lunch I desperately need to sleep. I had put it down to disturbed sleep patterns at night, but maybe it's not that alone.
 
Viki said:
I get this everyday. My colleagues call it my post lunch slump! (3-4pm ish)

I get very tired, almost to the point where i cant keep my eyes open. For me it is very much linked to higher BGs, I have to be careful what type of carbs i have for lunch. But if I dont have any I hypo. For me its a very fine balance which I havent mastered yet.
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It is a fine balance. I used to have a pudding in the staff resteraunt and feel very sleepy. I felt better after I stopped having the pudding and having fruit instead!
 
I usually have a lightish lunch at work if I eat something big then I want to sleep. I like having my lunch at around 2pm as I finish work at 3:15 so i can go home and have a sit down before I have to start getting tea ready.
 
Before I was diagnosed I was very tired all the time, particularly in the afternoons, and I just put it down to having really late nights and getting up v early; but have to admit, since being on the tablets and changing my diet totally, I hardly ever feel that way.

Just occasionally an overwhelming tiredness completely takes me over, and I just have to have a snooze, usually falling asleep within seconds of 'giving in'. Luckily I don't work, lol, could be embarrassing!!

xx
 
thnx for the replies guys

Ive never thought there was anything wrong i just found it strange ,before i was diagnosed i was energy on legs working 8am-10pm i could sleep for hours and wake up refreshed ,now though since being diagnosed my sleep pattern is crazy ,i can only sleep for 4 hours at a time i know strange cant fathom WHY 4 hours lol,every time i wake i yawn and feel tired but no matter what i try cant get back to sleep ,so I'm now a 4 hour napper lol,
well I'm glad I'm not going nuts think i`ll let the doc know its not my weight after all though yes i know i should get rid of that 4-5 stone i carry around lol

thnx guys
 
williammcd said:
thnx for the replies guys

Ive never thought there was anything wrong i just found it strange ,before i was diagnosed i was energy on legs working 8am-10pm i could sleep for hours and wake up refreshed ,now though since being diagnosed my sleep pattern is crazy ,i can only sleep for 4 hours at a time i know strange cant fathom WHY 4 hours lol,every time i wake i yawn and feel tired but no matter what i try cant get back to sleep ,so I'm now a 4 hour napper lol,
well I'm glad I'm not going nuts think i`ll let the doc know its not my weight after all though yes i know i should get rid of that 4-5 stone i carry around lol

thnx guys
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William, I wonder if, subconsciously, you are worrying about your health and this is disturbing your sleep patterns?
 
you know something northerner your a mind reader my wife said the same thing about 10 minutes after i typed this lol ,
you could be right by the way i know what i have to do getting it started is the hard part ,at the mo i just cant be arsed lol
 
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