The National Institute of Health recently reported that Black men and women are up to two times more likely to develop diabetes over their lifetimes than white Americans.
Diabetes occurs when one’s blood glucose (also called blood sugar) is too high. Over time, high levels of blood glucose can cause heart disease, nerve damage, eye problems, and kidney disease.
Previous studies in white and Asian populations have linked disturbances in sleep to increased blood glucose levels, which may be caused by sleep apnea, a condition where breathing stops or gets very shallow for periods during the sleep cycle. Sleep apnea reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the organs of the body, potentially leading to many health problems.