Sleep deprivation prevents counterregulatory adaptation to recurrent hypoglycaemia – published online 21/04/2022

Svenja Meyhöfer, Katharina Dembinski, Bernd Schultes, Jan Born, Britta Wilms, Hendrik Lehnert, Manfred Hallschmid, Sebastian M. Meyhöfer

Hypoglycaemia unawareness syndrome due to recurrent hypoglycaemic episodes is a major complication of diabetes treatment. Adaptation of the counterregulatory response to recurrent hypoglycaemia may be considered as a learning process that implicates the formation of neurometabolic memory. Recent epidemiological and experimental findings describe sleep as a relevant factor for metabolic control and may be essential for glucose homeostasis. In this issue, Meyhöfer et al (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-022-05702-9) report that, compared with regular sleep, sleep deprivation dampens the adaptation to recurrent hypoglycaemia. They also show that neuroglycopenic symptoms during hypoglycaemia are preserved upon sleep deprivation. The authors conclude that sleep may be a potential modulator of metabolic memory.

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