The Dawn Phenomenon: Is Assisted Living a Friend or Foe?

The dawn phenomenon is typically experienced by loved ones with diabetes. This is a condition wherein the person’s blood sugar increased in an abnormal rate approximately between 2 AM – 8 AM. While there are many reasons why the dawn phenomenon occurs, what’s more important is that this diabetic occurrence can be spotted immediately.

When your elderly loved one is staying in our Residential Care Facility in Rancho Palos Verdes California, they can receive our quality care and 24/7 health monitoring. Hence, incidences such as the dawn phenomenon can be determined by our diligent staff. Whereas at home, you may find it challenging to wake up at these wee hours to check on their blood sugar, the assisted living facility staff members do this normally.

In other words, a facility providing Assisted Living in California is a friend to your diabetic loved one especially during the times they’re at risk of the dawn phenomenon.

Along with the care steps our staff team can do with your loved one diagnosed with diabetes, here are further healthy options that are doctor-recommended, which you can apply to prevent the unexpected increase of blood sugar very early in the morning.

• Keep away from carbohydrate-rich foods especially right before going to bed. These nutrients can trigger the increase of glucose and when you eat them as you go to sleep, your glucose level can also climb up unexpectedly.
• It also helps when you monitor your dosage for insulin and ensure that you’re taking them as prescribed. Consult with your doctor first before adjusting your dosage preferences because abrupt changes can also trigger the unhealthy increase of blood sugar in your bloodstreams.
• The unexpected increase of your blood sugar level can also be caused by the current medications you’re taking. It is possible that your glucose reacts negatively to your medications, hence, producing such a side effect. Report this incident to your doctor and consider replacing your current prescription, depending on what the doctor says.
• The dawn phenomenon can also be caused by the timeliness of the insulin intake. Insulin is responsible for regulating the blood glucose level. When you take it too early, it might not be able to work as well on time. You can try changing the insulin schedule to right before bedtime.
• Another healthy option to avert the unexpected rise of blood sugar level is to take extra insulin very early in the morning. Your loved one can be assisted by providers of Elderly Care in Rancho Palos Verdes California.

The dawn phenomenon may sound fresh to your ears, but it’s actually risky. You see, getting an unexpected high sugar level at a time when you’re fully asleep can lead to major health complications. Hence at Pacific Sunrise Home, you can take advantage of our 24/7 monitoring and level of care such that even at the earliest dawn, we can still do some checking or administer treatment to your loved one.