Ask the Diabetes Educator Archive

9/1/03

Q:
My father,52 yrs old, shows normal fasting levels of blood glucose but 2 hours after a meal,the reading is 220 mg/dl. The reading taken was after he had slept for 2 hours. Does sleeping after a meal increase the blood glucose levels so drastically?

A:
No, sleeping after a meal does not make it rise drastically, but conversely, being active post meal will help to bring blood sugars down. "Normal" blood sugars do not go above 140 post meal; we often target 120 as the goal 2 hours later. At 220, clearly some meal intake and lifestyle evaluation needs to be done. If your father is on medication, that, too, may need reevaluation.