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Sleep Health and Barriers in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes, a Mixed Methods Study
Hormone Research in Paediatrics
|July 6, 2026
Summary
Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) often lack sufficient sleep due to diabetes management and other factors. Improving sleep health in these youth requires addressing behavioral and diabetes-related barriers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Sleep Medicine
- Adolescent Health
Background:
- Sleep health is crucial for adolescent well-being, but type 1 diabetes (T1D) management poses significant sleep challenges.
- Nocturnal glucose control, hypoglycemia fears, and device alarms disrupt sleep in adolescents with T1D.
- Despite links between poor sleep and adverse diabetes outcomes, sleep assessment is often overlooked in routine care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate sleep patterns and identify barriers to sleep in adolescents with T1D.
- To explore the relationship between sleep, psychosocial factors, and glycemic control in this population.
Main Methods:
- A mixed-methods observational study involving 70 adolescents (ages 11-17) with T1D.
- Utilized 7-day actigraphy, sleep diaries, surveys, diabetes device data, and qualitative interviews.
- Analyzed sleep duration, efficiency, glycemic metrics, and coded qualitative themes for barriers and facilitators.
Main Results:
- 54% of participants did not meet recommended sleep duration (mean 7.1 hours), with older adolescents sleeping less.
- Lower sleep efficiency correlated with insufficient sleep duration.
- School demands and diabetes-related factors like alarms were key sleep barriers; no significant glycemic differences by sleep sufficiency were found.
Conclusions:
- A majority of adolescents with T1D experience insufficient sleep, facing modifiable behavioral and diabetes-related obstacles.
- Routine sleep screening and targeted interventions are essential for improving the overall health of adolescents with T1D.
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