Can Stress Raise Blood Sugar In Type 2 Diabetes

Eliminate Whats Stressing You Out

Stress + Diabetes: What To Know

While this seems obvious, it should be your first plan of action. You might not be able to completely avoid the stress, but you could reduce it by brainstorming alternatives and problem solving. If you want to avoid rush-hour traffic, try leaving at a different time or adopt a new route. If a relationship is troubling you, see if you can make amends. If you find you cannot accomplish tasks at hand, find new ways to get organized.

Blood Sugar Level Charts For People With Diabetes

The American Diabetes Association suggests the following targets for most non-pregnant adults with diabetes:

Type of patient

Children, teens, and adolescents with diabetes should aim to keep within these ranges:

Age
6-12 years old
7.5%

The A1c test looks at how good your blood glucose control has been over a period of 3 months. These values are a guide. Your doctor will provide you with a personal management plan.

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Is It Only ‘negative Stress’ That Affects Blood Sugar

Even positive life changes can cause blood sugar to swing, says Amy Campbell, RD, a certified diabetes care and education specialist, and a contributor to DiabetesSelfManagement.com. Planning a wedding, moving to a new city, getting a job promotion such happy stressors can also send your fight-or-flight hormones into overdrive.

A past review cited the definition of stress as the physiological or psychological response to an external stimulus, regardless of whether that stimulus is good or bad. That means that if you experience a significant change in your life whether it’s positive or negative its a good idea to keep an extra-close watch on your blood sugar.

What Happens If Your Blood Sugar Is Too High

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How To Treat Hyperglycemia

Type 2 Diabetes: Is Stress the Source of Your Blood Sugar ...

Just as there are immediate complications of hyperglycemia and long-term complications of hyperglycemia, there are also immediate and long-term treatment recommendations.

If you or someone you know are showing signs of either DKA or HHS, emergency treatment is required either via the emergency room or admission into the hospital.

Most instances of hyperglycemia are not emergent, though and can be treated at home in a variety of ways.

Fast-acting insulin: Individuals with type I diabetes and those with type II diabetes on sliding scale insulin can use a bolus of fast-acting insulin to correct hyperglycemia. Insulin injection is the only way to immediately treat high blood sugar. You should start to see the blood sugar drop within about one hour, but you will not see the full effect for about 3-4 hours after injection. If your blood sugar does not start to come down after 3 hours, consider checking your insulin vile to make sure that it has not passed the expiration date or that there is nothing floating in the bottle that might have contaminated the medication. Contact your doctor if thereâs no improvement in blood sugar. Oral medications work in a variety of ways, but none of them are used to treat high blood sugar in the moment.

A diagnosis of diabetes can be overwhelming and it can be difficult to know where to start. Take things one step at a time. Set SMART goals and check in with your progress frequently. Treating hyperglycemia is just one part of managing diabetes.

How To Manage Your Stress Levels

Some forms of stress cannot be managed, especially if they are not frequent in nature such as a one-time traumatic event or an accidental injury. Other types of stress, such as taking care of family, work stressors, or any other day-to-day stressful situations, will likely be there permanently or semipermanently. These types of stressful events are the ones that need to be managed as best you can.

To do this, you can proactively plan ahead. This means being prepared for the regular stressors of life and managing your time, reading self-help books, or minimizing the source of stress as much as possible. Calming exercises such as yoga and meditation have also been proven to reduce stress levels. You will also want to avoid indulging in unhealthy behaviors such as overeating. It may seem comforting at the time, but it will not help to relieve the stress you are experiencing.

Setting realistic and manageable goals is also a big stress reducer for those with diabetes. Instead of focusing on a large and vague goal such as losing weight, setting a goal of walking for at least a half-hour every day on specific days of the week will be much more achievable.

Upswing: Steroids And Water Pills

People take corticosteroids, such as prednisone, to treat rashes, arthritis, asthma, and many other conditions. But they can boost your blood sugar, and may even trigger diabetes in some people. Diuretics that help high blood pressure, also called water pills, can do the same. Some antidepressants also raise or lower blood sugar.

Dealing With Diabetes Can Cause Anxiety

Lets face it: Controlling diabetes is hard work. That in itself is enough to cause worry and stress. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, those with diabetes are 20 percent more likely to experience anxiety than those without the disease.

We understand this, and were dedicated to helping alleviate your worry by working together as a team to address any distressing issues.

How Can Glucose Levels Influence Depression

Study Links Stress Hormone with Higher Blood Sugar in Type 2 Diabetes

There are a few reasons for poor glucose control resulting in higher prevalence of depression in both diabetic and healthy populations. Research has shown that diets high in added sugars or foods that ultimately raise your blood sugar are linked to depression and adverse mental health symptoms after several years. This informs us that diets high in added sugar impacts mental health on a long-term basis.

High dietary intake of added sugar has impacts on various metabolic processes that may result in the development of depression

Excessive sugar intake can lead to inflammation in the body, which is correlated with higher risks of depression, along with varied high and low glucose levels that impacts fluctuations in our hormones. Hormone dysregulation can often have a negative effect on our moods and is linked to greater risk for depression over time.

Excess sugar intake can have an addictive like effect

Diets high in added sugar can often impact our pleasure / reward chemical, dopamine, in the brain Ã¢ resulting in an addictive effect that feeds a cycle of poor mood, depression, and desire for more sugar to improve those feelings.

Overall stress related to being diagnosed with and managing diabetes

Studies show a biological relationship related to a mechanism in the brain that predisposes diabetics to depression

Increased blood glucose levels have been associated with increasing the neurotransmitter Glutamate

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How Do I Know Whether Stress Is Affecting My Glycemic Control

A simple way to do this is to rate your stress level on a scale of 1 to 10 every time you test your blood sugar levels. Make a note of this number and next to it write down your glucose reading.

By doing this consistently for a few weeks, a pattern should emerge that allows you to see whether high levels of stress coincide with high glucose levels, or vice versa.

Measuring Your Own Personal Response To Stress

Just like with most other biological processes, your diabetes makes you a master at understanding your own physical state in ways that non-diabetics would never have to. Its something I like to consider a super-power and one of those powers is the ability to quickly and succinctly measure your blood glucose levels.

The first thing, is if you dont have a small notepad or use the notepad on your phone, start carrying one or make sure you have a free notepad app on your phone. This will become your log book for diabetes.

Whenever you feel stress, or have a physical stress event rate your stress from 1-10 with 10 being the highest stress youve ever experienced. Then measure your blood glucose levels.

I also write down how much sleep Ive had the night before and what I was doing at the time of stress.

After a few weeks, this logbook will help you identify if there are any activities or parts of schedules that are predictably raising your blood sugar levels. Then you can manage that particular event. If there is no external event, then you can start using personal stress reduction techniques to lower your overall anxiety and stress levels.

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Stress, Digestion and Depression

With diabetes type 2 there is also a history of poor digestion. Improving digestion is important to managing stress and mood. Mood responds to blood sugar. When blood glucose is balanced, mood is also balanced and the emotional ups and downs of the day even out. Digestion and intestinal health are important to mood because many of the neurotransmitters that govern mood such as serotonin are made in the small intestine where food is digested. Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and body. They relay signals between neurons. They affect mood, sleep, concentration, weight, carbohydrate cravings, addictions and can contribute to depression, pain, anxiety, and insomnia when they are not in balance. Pharmaceutical-grade amino acids may be compounded according to the specific biochemical needs of the individual to provide the building blocks that support specific NT production. Minerals like Chromium and vanadium also help regulate blood glucose. I address a comprehensive nutritional strategy in my book: Preventing and Treating Diabetes Naturally, The Native Way.

Self-Care TipWhen making changes it is easier to create a positive new habit, than it is to stop a negative habit. Often negative habits will drop away once the new habit is firmly in place.

Understanding how physical illness can result from stress provides us with opportunities to reduce stress and thereby improve physical well being.

Follow These Steps To Find Out If Your Blood Sugar Levels Are Affected By Mental Stress:

Type 2 diabetes: sitting can cause problems with blood ...

Rate your stress level on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 indicates the lowest stress level and 10 the highest record your stress level in your logbook.

Test your glucose using your home monitor and enter the result.

After a week or two, study your results to see if there is a pattern or relationship between your stress level and your blood sugar levels.

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How To Combat Stress

So how can you reduce stress so that it has less of an effect on your blood sugar control?

Well, to some extent that depends on the nature of your stress. Anything in life that is stressing you out thats fixable, you should work to fix. That stupid toilet that runs all night and disturbs your sleep? Get it repaired. Thats easy. But sometimes its harder: The boyfriend or girlfriend who always puts you down? Time to break up. Not all that easy to do, although it will improve your health on multiple levels.

Meanwhile, things that stress you out that you cant fix, but that you can avoid, you should avoid. Your sister drives you nuts? Youre not required to visit her, you know.

Lastly, of course, there are things in life that you cant fix and you cant avoid, and these you need to develop ways to deal with. Sometimes this involves changing your mental attitude toward it. Other times its the use of stress-relief tools, like exercise to burn off that fight or flight sugar, or hot baths and aroma therapy candles to drown the stress so that your body stops releasing the sugar.

Some of the most tried-and-true stress relief tactics are:

Exercise of any kind

Remove Or Minimize The Source Of Stress

Time management and organizational techniques may reduce small stressorsthat often compound until a crescendo is reached. Self-helpbooks,may be useful for patients to find successful ways to put structure in theirlives and manage their time and life stressors. Minimizing the source ofstress is helpful. For example, if repetitive noise at work is causing stress,one solution could be substituting white noise for the repetitive noise bysoftly playing relaxing classical music. Setting up a meeting with theemployer or coworkers to get help with one’s workload may also alleviatestress. Often, the most difficult challenge is actually identifying the sourceof stress and separating that source from the responses to stress. Effectiveproblem-solving strategies are important for minimizing the source ofstress.

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How Are You Sweetening Your Coffee What You Add To Your Cup May Affect Your Blood Sugar Levels

Whether you were recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or have been living with the condition for several years, you know how fickle blood sugar levels can be, and how important it is that they stay controlled.

Proper blood sugar control is key for warding off potential diabetes complications, such as kidney disease, nerve damage, vision problems, stroke, and heart disease, according to the National Institutes of Health . Plus, keeping your levels in check on a daily basis can help you stay energized, focused, and in a good mood, explains Lisa McDermott, RD, CDCES, a diabetes specialist with the Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network.

According to the American Diabetes Association , proper medication, effective meal planning, regular exercise, and regular blood sugar checks can all help you keep your levels within a healthy range. The ADA recommends blood glucose stay within 80 to 130 milligrams per deciliter before meals and below 180 mg/dL two hours after the start of a meal. Furthermore, the organization recommends getting an A1C test, which measures your average blood glucose over the past two to three months, at least twice per year if your levels are stable and you are meeting treatment goals.

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Ways To Reduce Mental Stress3

Diabetes and stress: how does it affect my blood sugar levels – Ken Tait

Learn how to relax during stressful moments by using deep-breathing exercises.
Evaluate your schedule to find how to make changes to relieve stress.
Exercise regularly and take regular outdoor walks to experience nature, which generally has a soothing effect on the body and soul.

It is important to understand what stress is and how it effects your body. By identfiying and actively finding healthy ways to overcome your stress triggers, you can help to improve your diabetes management.

References1. Glucerna.How Stress Affects Blood Sugar Levels 2020. Abbott Laboratories. Available at: https://glucerna.com/why-glucerna/how-stress-affects-blood-sugar-levels..2. Diabetes UK. Stress And Blood Glucose-Levels.2019. Diabetes Digital Media. Available at: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/stress-and-blood-glucose-levels.html .3. Mind Organisation. Stress. 1st ed. London: Mind publications, p.1-15. 2017. Available at: https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/2959/stress-2017.pdf .

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How Stress Affects Type 2 Diabetes

No one lives a stress free life. Stress, both mental and physical can affect type 2 diabetics in several ways. This is mostly because of how stress affects blood sugar levels in the body, which has implications for type 2 diabetics. Read on to discover how to accurately track your own stress levels and the impact to your blood sugar levels. Maintaining a good understanding of stress and how to manage it with your diabetes is an often overlooked factor in good health.

We will discuss here, the two types of stress, physical and mental, how it affects blood sugar levels. Then Ill tell you how to know how your stress is affecting your blood sugar and then finally, what exactly you can do about it.

How Does Exercise Help With Stress

Research studies, including one from Maastricht University in 2000, show that physical activity can increase insulin sensitivity and help to lower blood glucose levels, as well as burn calories.

In the UK, the NHS advise to build up to 150 minutes of aerobic activity, such as jogging or brisk walking, each week.

Moving your body through a wide range of motions can also give the mind a rest from the pressures of everyday life. Some people find this relaxing as the mind is preoccupied with exercising rather than worrying about any problems in life.

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Drugs That Can Affect Blood Glucose Levels

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