SHOW NOTES:

When's the last time you actually slept through the night? No CGM alarms. No blood sugar math at 3am. No lying awake wondering if your number was stable. If you can't remember, that's exactly the point.

In this episode, Neil digs into something that doesn't get said often enough: type 1 diabetes makes sleeping harder in specific, documented ways. Not in a general "I have a lot on my mind" way -- in a real, researched way that affects sleep architecture in T1D adults compared to those without the disease. From CGM alarms to actual lows to the anxiety of lying awake next to a flat-line CGM your brain still won't fully accept, this episode names what 3am with T1D actually feels like.

We're in Week 1 of the While You Were Sleeping Challenge. If you missed Friday's episode, here's the whole thing in one sentence: we're tracking our sleep for eight weeks and figuring out what it's actually doing to our blood sugar.

In this episode:

• What actually wakes T1D people up at night -- and why it's not always the alarm
• The documented differences in sleep quality between T1D and non-T1D adults
• Why people with T1D spend more time in lighter sleep stages
• What "T1D sleep mode" looks like (the nature documentary version)
• Why being awake at 3am with a stable number is not you being irrational

This Week's Challenge: Write down what woke you up last night. One line. Alarm? Low? Anxiety? Just woke up? You're collecting data.

Helpful resources and newsletter: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Connect with Neil: TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912 Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Books on Amazon: Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time: https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories: https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1

SHOW NOTES:

If you've ever woken up to a blood sugar that makes no sense -- went to bed at a perfect number, did everything right, and still saw a confusing morning high -- this episode is for you.

Neil Greathouse, who has lived with type 1 diabetes since February 14, 1992, kicks off the 8-week While You Were Sleeping Challenge by asking one question: what was happening the night before your worst blood sugar day last month? For 34 years, Neil blamed the pump site, the insulin, the food, the stress -- pretty much everything except the variable that was right there the whole time. This is the episode that puts sleep on the T1D checklist for good.

This is Week 1 of the While You Were Sleeping Challenge. Whether you're starting here or catching up, you're not behind. Over 1,200 people are doing this challenge with you.

In this episode:

• Why mystery blood sugars might have a cause you've never considered
• The full list of things Neil has personally blamed for blood sugars that didn't make sense (it's a long list)
• Why this 8-week sleep challenge is, in fact, diabetes content
• How to start the simplest data-collection habit of the whole challenge

This Week's Challenge: Write down how many hours you sleep each night. If you want to add one layer, note your fasting blood sugar the next morning. Don't change anything yet. Just notice.

Helpful resources and newsletter: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Connect with Neil: TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912 Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Books on Amazon: Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time: https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories: https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1

Helpful resources and newsletter:
https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Sponsor Connect

Blue Circle Health offers free coaching and care that fits real life for adults with type 1 diabetes. They help with insulin adjustments, CGMs, burnout, and the mental load of diabetes, without fighting the healthcare system alone.
Sign up free at:
https://bluecirclehealth.org

Connect

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes
Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912
Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Books on Amazon

Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time
https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ

Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories
https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1

Helpful resources and newsletter:
https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Sponsor Connect

Blue Circle Health offers free coaching and care that fits real life for adults with type 1 diabetes. They help with insulin adjustments, CGMs, burnout, and the mental load of diabetes, without fighting the healthcare system alone.
Sign up free at:
https://bluecirclehealth.org

Connect

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes
Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912
Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Books on Amazon

Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time
https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ

Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories
https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1

79% of people with T1D experience shame related to their diabetes. Not occasionally. As part of their daily lived experience.

Today's guest built an entire conference around that statistic. Allison Nimlos is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES), and has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for 32 years. She knows this disease from the inside of a therapy room and from the inside of her own body.

We talk about what diabetes distress actually looks like (and why it's not the same as burnout), why your A1C being good doesn't mean you're OK, and what it costs people to be stuck between an endo who doesn't ask how they're doing and a therapist who doesn't know what an A1C is.

Plus, True or False, the Diabetes Confession Booth, and Allison goes head-to-head with the Fastest 5 Minutes of Your Life.

The Diabetes + Mental Health Conference is May 1-2. That's next week. Virtual. $40 general admission. Register at dmhconference.com.

Links: Follow Allison: @thediabetictherapist

Helpful resources and newsletter:
https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Sponsor Connect

Blue Circle Health offers free coaching and care that fits real life for adults with type 1 diabetes. They help with insulin adjustments, CGMs, burnout, and the mental load of diabetes, without fighting the healthcare system alone.
Sign up free at:
https://bluecirclehealth.org

Connect

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes
Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912
Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Books on Amazon

Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time
https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ

Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories
https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1

Helpful resources and newsletter:
https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Sponsor Connect

Blue Circle Health offers free coaching and care that fits real life for adults with type 1 diabetes. They help with insulin adjustments, CGMs, burnout, and the mental load of diabetes, without fighting the healthcare system alone.
Sign up free at:
https://bluecirclehealth.org

Connect

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes
Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912
Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Books on Amazon

Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time
https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ

Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories
https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1

Helpful resources and newsletter:
https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Sponsor Connect

Blue Circle Health offers free coaching and care that fits real life for adults with type 1 diabetes. They help with insulin adjustments, CGMs, burnout, and the mental load of diabetes, without fighting the healthcare system alone.
Sign up free at:
https://bluecirclehealth.org

Connect

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes
Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912
Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Books on Amazon

Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time
https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ

Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories
https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1

Helpful resources and newsletter:
https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Sponsor Connect

Blue Circle Health offers free coaching and care that fits real life for adults with type 1 diabetes. They help with insulin adjustments, CGMs, burnout, and the mental load of diabetes, without fighting the healthcare system alone.
Sign up free at:
https://bluecirclehealth.org

Connect

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes
Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912
Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com

Books on Amazon

Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time
https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ

Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories
https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1