The Bedtime Snack to Combat Higher Than Normal Morning Blood Sugars in Diabetes

For people with diabetes, it is important to monitor their diabetic condition, at suitable intervals, with the aid of a simple hand-held device that is used to measure the amounts of glucose circulating in their bloodstream.

It is a common practice for people with diabetes to take a self monitored blood glucose test at the beginning of each day before breakfast in order to measure their fasting blood sugar levels. If they are successful in managing their diabetic condition, the blood test measurement will probably fall between 70 and 130 mg/dL indicating a good start to the day, but if not, it may require a review of possible adjustments to late night eating patterns that may be contributing excess sugars to the body.

But sometimes the early morning blood test reveals a higher than expected level where the readings are higher than when measured the night before, even though nothing more had been eaten later in the evening. This condition, sometimes referred to as the dawn phenomenon, is caused when a release of glucose occurs during the early morning hours triggered by actions of the liver in response to the normal and gradual falling blood sugars circulating in the body during the night.

The solution, a bedtime snack
A recommended solution to counter the dawn phenomenon of higher morning blood sugar levels is to consume a small snack late in the evening before bedtime. There are many appropriate foods that can be included in a bedtime snack. Personal preferences can come into play here where the choice of foods can meet the tastes of the individual but the general guidelines are that a suitable snack would include small amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat, possibly equivalent to one or two servings of starch with one serving of protein. Some simple examples would be to eat a slice of whole grain bread with peanut butter and a glass of milk or soymilk. Or a few Graham crackers and some low fat cheese, or a slice or two of cooked turkey is often suggested as a good protein source.

After a few nights experimenting with what to include in a bedtime snack, adjustments can be made. In my own case as a diabetic, one slice of whole grain bread is sufficient, usually with a slice of low fat cheese and a half glass of soymilk. Some will vary their snack depending on their measured bedtime blood sugar levels but I stick with the same snack regardless and I don’t usually measure my bedtime blood sugar levels unless I expect them to be rather high.

As a type-2 diabetic I sometimes experience periods where the dawn phenomenon occurs and I have found that the bedtime snack usually works well for me, enabling my fasting blood sugars to be under 126 mg/dL. For more on diabetes, please check out the List of Topics on the following sites: Diabetic Menu Guide and Diabetic Food List Plus.