Basal Testing - nighttime

Should this be done at exactly 3:00am or can it be up to so many minutes either side?

I did one last night when I woke up to go downstairs which was 3:43am.

The 3am time is just a guide to be honest. It represents a time where the blood stream will have minimum influence from other hormones, specifically those which occur in the morning when your body starts to wake up, so those hormones associated with the dawn phenomenon.

So if you were testing your blood sugar at this time it would be to establish whether or not your blood sugar has been held steady overnight, before the dawn phenomenon actually starts, which is important information when deciding whether or not to increase your overnight basal dose.

For general basal testing its actually most effective to test your blood sugar every hour..........so if you have confirmed that you are experiencing the dawn phenomenon but still want to check if your basal dose is correct, then testing before bed and at 3am would give a good indication. Any time after that wouldn't be accurate as your blood sugar may be rising due to events not in your control.......

That's was a bit long winded, sorry, ultimately it may not matter if you tested at 3am or 3:43. Everyone's hormonal release can start at different times you see, some earlier than 3am, some later, depends on the body clock and when you get up in the morning....

What was your pre bed and 3 am test results last night ?

if doing night tests I always take monitor to bed, that way I don't have to get up and go downstairs! 3am is a guide, I have often done them at 230am or 330am!