[Diabetes-Talk] Our newsletter for June

[Gary Wunder]

Diabetes Action Network Newsletter

June, 2026

 

The Diabetes Action Network Meets in Austin

By Debbie Wunder

As this newsletter is about to be dropped in your email, we are one month
away from our annual meeting. It will be on Sunday, July 5, in Room 302.
Come learn about blind diabetics who are living independently, successfully
managing their diabetes, and advocating for technology that provides equal
access and opportunity. Connect with others who have moved beyond fear and
embraced the challenges of this disease. We are finalizing an agenda that we
hope has something for everyone, and there is still time for you to make a
request for something to appear or offer to be a presenter.

don't forget that we will be holding elections. We need people who will
serve with heart and put real energy into advancing the cause of blind
diabetics. Your vote counts, and positions may be filled by anyone who is an
active member of the division.

At the time of this writing, my son Jason is still fighting a battle with
stage IV cancer, and I am his primary caretaker. Although I am making plans
to attend the convention, I will be with him for as long as he is in this
fight.

Please do all that you can to make contributions to our newsletter and
continue through your work to demonstrate why we have a Diabetes Action
Network.

 

How to Pay Your Dues

By Danielle McCann

                

This is to let you know that we have simplified the way that you can
electronically pay dues to the Diabetes Action Network.

Now, you are able to pay your dues using a credit card directly on the NFB
website. I will put the link to make payment at the end of this message.

When you activate the link, you will be brought to a donations page. Here,
you will enter your contact information first. Once this part is complete,
you will encounter a list of preset amounts from which you can choose. To
pay dues, you will choose the option called "other amount". Once you select
this option, you will enter 10.00 in to the edit field which will appear
directly below/after "other amount".

Continue filling out the form, and when you get to the field called
"contribution note" please be sure to indicate that you are paying 2026
dues. If you don't indicate that you're paying your dues, we will not know
to allocate those funds accordingly, so please remember to do this part.

Going forward, you can still mail a check made out to the Diabetes Action
Network to my attention at 113 Wells Ave,  Glen Burnie, MD 21061. However,
the website will be the only way to submit electronic payments. The link is


https://nfb.org/contribute/DANf

Thank you.

 

Scenes From My Treadmill

Exercise, Type 2 Diabetes, and the Journey From Green Bay to Disney World

By Denise Charlier

 

Living with type 2 diabetes changes the way you think about health. You
begin paying closer attention to blood sugar numbers, meals, energy levels,
sleep, and stress. But one of the biggest discoveries for many people is
that exercise is not just about weight loss or fitness. Movement can
completely change how you feel mentally, emotionally, and physically.

For me, Exercise became more than a routine. It evolved into a challenge, an
adventure, and eventually a story I called Scenes From My Treadmill.

Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes

Exercise is one of the most powerful tools for managing type 2 diabetes.
When you move your body, your muscles use glucose for energy, helping lower
blood sugar levels naturally. Regular walking, cycling, strength training,
or even dancing can improve insulin sensitivity and help the body use
insulin more effectively.

But the benefits go far beyond numbers on a glucose meter. Exercise can:

.             Improve heart health

.             Increase energy levels

.             Reduce stress and anxiety

.             Support healthy sleep

.             Improve circulation

.             Maintain a healthy weight

.             Build confidence and motivation

For many people with type 2 diabetes, exercise becomes a daily reset button.

Movement Improves Mood

One of the first things I noticed after committing to regular walking was
how much better my mood became. Exercise releases endorphins, the brain's
natural "feel-good" chemicals. Even on difficult days, getting on the
treadmill helped clear my mind.

Some days started with low motivation or stress. But after a few miles with
upbeat Disney music playing in the background, everything felt lighter. The
music created energy. The movement created momentum. Together, they
transformed exercise from something I had to do into something I actually
looked forward to.

There is something powerful about hearing an upbeat Disney parade song while
imagining Main Street, U.S.A." or the excitement of crossing a finish line
during a runDisney event. Suddenly the treadmill stops feeling like a
machine and starts feeling like part of an adventure.

Better Sleep Through Exercise

Sleep is another challenge many people with type 2 diabetes face. Blood
sugar fluctuations, stress, and inactivity can all affect sleep quality.
Regular exercise can help the body settle into a healthier rhythm.

After weeks of consistent walking, I noticed:

.             Falling asleep faster

.             Sleeping more deeply

.             Waking up with more energy

.             Feeling less restless at night

Exercise helped reduce stress as much as it burned calories. The walks
became a way to mentally unplug from the day.

The Challenge: Green Bay to Disney World

At some point, ordinary treadmill sessions were no longer enough. I needed a
goal that felt exciting and meaningful. So I decided to challenge myself to
walk the distance from Green Bay, Wisconsin, all the way to Disney World in
Florida.

Instead of focusing only on daily miles, I began thinking about the total
journey. Every workout became another step south toward sunshine, castles,
fireworks, and finish lines.

The challenge changed everything.

A treadmill walk that once felt repetitive suddenly became part of a larger
story:

.             One week I was "crossing" Illinois

.             Another week I imagined reaching Tennessee or Georgia

.             Every mile carried me closer to Florida

The goal gave purpose to every workout, even the short ones.

Disney Music and runDisney Motivation

To keep the experience fun, I filled my workouts with upbeat Disney
playlists and YouTube videos featuring different runDisney events. Watching
runners move through the Disney parks while hearing cheering crowds created
an incredible sense of motivation.

The videos helped me imagine:

.             Running through Cinderella Castle before sunrise

.             Seeing Disney characters cheering runners on

.             Crossing finish lines with triumphant music playing

.             Celebrating health, endurance, and determination

Even though I was walking on a treadmill in Wisconsin, mentally I was
already on the course.

The music mattered too. Disney songs carry emotion, optimism, and energy.
Whether it was an instrumental park soundtrack or an upbeat movie anthem,
the songs reminded me that exercise could feel joyful instead of stressful.

More Than Fitness

The journey became about more than blood sugar control or distance tracking.
It became proof that health goals can also be creative and meaningful.

Type 2 diabetes can sometimes feel overwhelming. But creating challenges,
themes, and personal adventures can make healthy habits easier to sustain. A
treadmill can become a highway to Florida. A playlist can become motivation.
A simple walk can become a celebration of progress.

Every mile matters.

Every step counts.

And sometimes the best scenes are the ones that happen right on your
treadmill.

 

The Silent Regulator: Why Sleep Is the Missing Link in Diabetes Care

By Gary Wunder

In diabetes management, carbohydrates, medication, and exercise often get
most of the attention. We count carbohydrates, track our steps, and adjust
our insulin doses. Yet many of us find that, despite careful behavior in
these areas, our morning blood sugars remain stubbornly high or our energy
craters by noon. The missing piece of the puzzle is often sleep.

For blind people and people with low vision, sleep is not just a matter of
rest; it is a biological necessity that may be disrupted when light
perception is limited or absent. If we want to manage our glucose levels, we
must move sleep from the category of luxury to that of a serious medical
consideration.

The Biology of the Forgotten Pillar

Why does sleep matter so much for a person with diabetes? When we are
sleep-deprived, our bodies enter a state of physiological stress. Even one
night of poor sleep can affect insulin sensitivity. Sleep is not separate
from diabetes management. It touches nearly every part of it: insulin,
cortisol, appetite, meal timing, energy, and blood sugar patterns.

Two major hormonal shifts may occur when we do not get enough rest.

Cortisol Rises

Known as the stress hormone, cortisol tells the liver to release stored
glucose into the bloodstream to prepare the body for a threat. Without
enough sleep, the body may act as though it is under stress, keeping blood
sugar elevated even when food is not the immediate cause.

Hunger Hormones Shift

Sleep loss can affect two key hormones: ghrelin, which signals hunger, and
leptin, which signals fullness. When these are out of balance, the body may
crave high-calorie, high-carbohydrate foods for quick energy, making dietary
discipline much harder.

This is why a poor night's sleep can show up not only as fatigue but also as
higher readings, stronger cravings, less patience, and poorer judgment about
food and exercise.

Sleep Cues That Do Not Depend on Light

Standard sleep advice often focuses on dimming the lights, avoiding bright
screens, or watching the sunset. For those of us with no light perception,
these tips have limited value. However, the body can respond to other
time-givers, sometimes called zeitgebers, or cues that help establish a
rhythm. These cues may not solve every sleep disorder, but they can help
make bedtime more predictable.

Use Temperature

Core body temperature normally drops as sleep begins. Use sensory cues, such
as a cooling blanket or the feel and sound of a fan that turns on by timer
or smart plug, to signal to your brain that cool means sleep.

Use Sound

Just as sighted people may use light, blind people can use sound. Choose a
specific sleep-only soundscape, such as brown noise, rain, or a particular
nonverbal ambient track, that plays only when you are in bed. Over time,
your brain may associate that sound with winding down.

Reserve the Bed for Sleep

Because we often navigate our homes through touch and may use the bed as a
convenient surface, it can easily become a place for sorting mail, using a
computer, eating, or listening to news. To maintain the psychological
association, the bed should be reserved for sleep and intimacy.

Navigating the Free-Running Clock: Non-24 and Diabetes

Non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder does not affect every blind person. It is
most likely among people who have no light perception. For those who do
experience it, the internal body clock may drift later each day. This can
make sleep, meals, medication timing, and blood sugar patterns harder to
predict.

For a person with diabetes, non-24 can create an additional challenge. As
the sleep cycle drifts, the timing of morning hormone changes and higher
glucose readings may drift too. If you are waking at two in the morning
because of a shifted cycle, your glucose pattern and medication timing may
differ from what you see when you wake at seven.

Consistency in meal timing, glucose checks, medication routines, and bedtime
cues may help anchor the day. In some cases, a physician may recommend
melatonin or a prescription treatment such as tasimelteon. These should be
discussed with a doctor. Timing matters, dosage matters, and other
medications may affect what is safe or effective.

Sleep Apnea: When Time in Bed Is Not Enough

Good sleep is not measured only by the number of hours spent in bed. A
person may sleep for seven or eight hours and still wake up exhausted if
breathing is repeatedly interrupted during the night. Sleep apnea is common
among those of us with diabetes and may contribute to morning headaches,
daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, and difficult-to-control blood
sugar.

Warning signs include loud snoring, waking up gasping or choking, a dry
mouth in the morning, unexplained fatigue, and needing to nap even after
what should have been a full night's sleep. Blind people living alone may
not have a bed partner to report snoring or breathing pauses, so daytime
symptoms matter. If these signs are present, asking a physician about a
sleep study may be as important as asking about medication, diet, or
exercise.

What to Track

A sleep diary does not have to be complicated. For two weeks, record
bedtime, wake time, naps, caffeine, alcohol, unusual stress, overnight lows,
morning blood sugar, and whether you woke rested or exhausted. Continuous
glucose monitor users may also want to note whether poor sleep lines up with
overnight highs, overnight lows, or a stronger dawn phenomenon.

Patterns may appear that are invisible from one day to the next. You may
discover that late caffeine affects you more than you thought, that a long
afternoon nap causes trouble at bedtime, or that a stressful evening is
followed by a higher morning reading. Diabetes asks us to notice patterns.
Sleep deserves a place in that pattern-finding.

Irregular Schedules Are Their Own Diabetes Challenge

Shift work, caregiving, convention travel, late-night deadlines, and family
obligations can all disrupt the body clock. The issue is not moral failure
or lack of discipline. It is physiology. When sleep and meals move around,
insulin needs, appetite, and morning blood sugar may move too.

The goal is not perfection but predictability: regular medication times when
possible, planned snacks, consistent glucose checks, and a realistic sleep
target. If your schedule cannot be ideal, make it as repeatable as you can.

When Life Is Interrupted: Travel, Vacations, and Tragedy

Good habits are easier when life is stable. But what happens when you are on
a family vacation, a business trip, or dealing with a personal tragedy?

Use an Anchor Point

When traveling across time zones, do not try to adjust everything at once.
Keep one anchor habit consistent. For example, do your glucose check and
have a small, high-protein snack thirty minutes before your target bedtime,
no matter where you are. This tactile and metabolic routine can help tell
your body it is time to wind down.

Respect the Stress of Tragedy

During times of grief or family crisis, the Big Three often fall apart. In
these moments, a short nap may be more useful than forcing a stressful
workout. But naps should be treated carefully. A brief nap can restore
energy; a long or late nap may make the next night worse.

Pack a Travel Sleep Kit

Keep a kit for travel: your specific pillowcase for the familiar tactile
feel and scent, your sound machine or phone app, and your usual pajamas. In
an unfamiliar hotel room or a relative's house, these familiar sensory
inputs can help reduce the first-night effect and make sleep more likely.

Conclusion: A Mindset Shift

We must stop seeing sleep as time lost and start seeing it as part of
treatment. For blind people and people with low vision, sleep hygiene is an
act of advocacy for our own health. By cultivating sensory routines and
respecting the biological need for rest, even during life's chaotic
chapters, we can help break the cycle of high sugars and exhaustion.

Diabetes asks us to notice patterns. Blindness has taught us to gather
information in many ways. Sleep deserves the same attention we give to food,
medication, exercise, and glucose readings. It is not laziness. It is not
indulgence. It is one of the body's ways of repairing itself and preparing
us to live the lives we want.

The next time you reach for a snack to cure your fatigue, ask yourself
whether what you really need is not food but rest: a quiet room, a cool
breeze, a familiar sound, and the healing power of sleep.

References

Edinger, Jack D., et al. "Behavioral and Psychological Treatments for
Chronic Insomnia Disorder in Adults: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Clinical Practice Guideline." Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 17, no. 2
(2021): 255-62. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33499025/

Morselli, Lisa, Rachel Leproult, Karine Spiegel, and Eve Van Cauter. "Role
of Sleep Duration in the Regulation of Glucose Metabolism and Appetite."
Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 24, no. 5
(2010): 687-702. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21112019/

Reutrakul, Sirimon, and Babak Mokhlesi. "Obstructive Sleep Apnea and
Diabetes: A State of the Art Review." Chest 152, no. 5 (2017): 1070-86.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5812754/

Sack, R. L. "Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders: Lessons from the Blind."
Sleep Medicine Reviews 5, no. 3 (2001): 189-206.
https://doi.org/10.1053/smrv.2000.0146

Salva, M. A. Q., and R. L. Sack. "Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Rhythm Disorder in
the Totally Blind: Diagnosis and Management." Frontiers in Neurology 8
(2017): 686. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5741691/

Van Cauter, Eve, and Kristen L. Knutson. "Sleep and the Epidemic of Obesity
in Children and Adults." European Journal of Endocrinology 159, suppl. 1
(2008): S59-66. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3105096/

Walker, Jessica, et al. "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: A
Primer." Federal Practitioner 39, no. 1 (2022): 12-18.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10002474/

 

Until Next Time

please remember that the things we do to help others are not usually found
in large acts of heroism but in the small things we do each day to better
the lives of blind diabetics. I had a friend who once said that he measured
his success when going to bed each evening by whether he could think of
something good he had done for someone else that day. He said that made all
the difference between a good tired and a bad tired. I concur with his
observation and thank those of you who also make this your motto, your
creed, and your commitment. 

 

Debbie Wunder, President

Diabetes Action Network

National Federation of the Blind

 

 

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