Did you know that your blood sugar can increase even if you don’t consume anything sweet? Stress might be the cause. Although feeling stressed from time to time is normal, chronic stress can impact your health more than you think, particularly your blood sugar.
But here’s the catch: if you’re stressed all the time, your blood sugar remains elevated too frequently. And that’s not healthy.
This article will discuss why and how stress affects your blood sugar level.
Why Stress Affects Blood Sugar?
Let’s simplify it. When stress hormones pour into your body:
- Your liver secretes more sugar (glucose) into the bloodstream.
- Your blood sugar-regulating hormone, insulin, doesn’t function as efficiently.
- Your body can become insulin resistant with repeated exposure.
This can be problematic if you’re living with diabetes. Even without diabetes, extended stress can nudge you to unhealthy levels.
Monitor What You Might Feel
Stress doesn’t only mess with your head. It actually creates real physical symptoms that can impact your blood sugar levels as well. You may:
- Be tired all the time
- Experience headaches or muscle tension
- Feel like you have a sweet and carb craving more frequently
- See, your blood sugar readings are out of whack even if you’re eating the same
This is why taking care of stress is just as crucial as eating right nitric oxide amazon supplements or taking your meds.
How HbA1c Reveals the Larger Picture?
You can monitor your blood sugar using a finger prick or glucose meter, but that’s only moment-by-moment information. To learn how your blood sugar is being controlled in the long run, physicians review your HbA1c values. The test measures your blood sugar control for the previous two to three months.
If your HbA1c is elevated beyond normal, stress may be an underlying cause. Even if you’re doing all the right things to eat and exercise, your levels won’t show your effort if stress is in the background. Understanding this empowers you to take charge. Discuss with your doctor how stress might be affecting your HbA1c readings.
Real Tools to Manage Stress
You don’t have to change your entire life to reduce stress. Start small. Here are a few simple things you can do today:
- Take deep breaths: Five minutes of slow breathing can soothe your body
- Get moving: Even a short walk reduces stress
- Sleep well: Your body needs to heal
- Vent to someone: Don’t bottle up your worries
Do something you like: Laughter and joy are great stress busters.
These easy-to-do actions can make a big difference in your mood and your blood sugar.
The Role of Supportive Health Services
A few clinics partner with a sendout lab to provide you with faster, more reliable test results. When your stress is harming your health, having lab tests completed in a timely manner helps your physician adjust your care more rapidly. For diabetics and those with prediabetes, finding out that your symptoms from stress aren’t “in your head” is liberating.
Sendout lab services also assist in following trends between blood sugar and stress. If you see that your levels rise at specific times of stress, you and your doctor can devise a more specific plan to tackle it.
Wrapping Up
You might think stress is all in your head, but it affects your overall physical health, particularly your blood sugar. If you have diabetes or simply want to live a healthier life, maintaining control over stress is important. Don’t be a skeptic. Your body is warning you about something.