There is increasing number of the patients worldwide with sleep disturbances and diabetes. Various sleep disorders, including long or short sleep duration and poor sleep quality of numerous causes, may increase the risk of diabetes. Some symptoms of diabetes, such as painful peripheral neuropathy and nocturia, or associated other sleep disorders, such as sleep breathing disorders or sleep movement disorders, may influence the sleep quality and quantity. Both sleep disorders and diabetes may lead to cognitive impairment. The risk of development of cognitive impairment in the diabetic patients may be related to vascular and non-vascular and other factors, such as hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, central insulin resistance, amyloid and tau deposits and other causes. Numerous sleep disorders, e.g., sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, insomnia and poor sleep quality most likely also associated with cognitive impairment. Adequate functioning of the system of clearance of the brain from toxic substances, such as amyloid β, i.e. glymphatic system, is related to undisturbed sleep and prevents cognitive impairment. In case of coexistence, sleep disturbances and diabetes either independently lead to and/or mutually aggravate cognitive impairment.Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.