Stress and Diabetes: How to Keep Your Blood Sugar Levels in Check

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Control Blood Sugar Through Diet, Exercise, and Relaxation

Medical science has been saying for decades that stress is a cause of many health issues, but many people don’t realize that stress can aggravate existing conditions. In particular, the link between stress and diabetes is well-documented, as stress can cause spikes in blood sugar levels that are especially dangerous for people with the condition. While it’s important for everybody to control stress, those with diabetes must structure their routines to keep stress from causing dangerous spikes in blood sugar. Once you start some healthy new habits, you may find that you enjoy your new lifestyle in addition to feeling less ill and being safer in your own body.

What is Diabetes?

According to the National Institutes of Health, in 2019, more than 133 million Americans – 38 percent – had some form of diabetes. In a healthy person, the pancreas produces a hormone called insulin, which regulates how the body processes glucose, or sugar, in the blood. Glucose is the energy source for the muscles and the brain. With diabetes, the pancreas doesn’t produce enough (or any) insulin, causing sugar to build up in the bloodstream and not reach the cells. It affects every system of the body and leads to a constellation of uncomfortable and dangerous symptoms.

Type 1 diabetes is genetic. The pancreas produces little to no insulin, and the immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. A person with Type 1 diabetes is dependent on daily injections of insulin to stay alive.
Type 2 diabetes is the result of a number of risk factors, including obesity, and is preventable. More than 90 percent of all cases of diabetes in the US are Type 2.

With any type of diabetes, consistent blood sugar management is essential to determine how to eat and medicate effectively. This is done with a handheld monitor and test strips. Diabetes sufferers can use the least expensive glucose test strips to monitor their levels efficiently and affordably.

What is Stress?

Almost anything can cause stress, a physiological response to threats that affect the whole body. The brain is hard-wired to handle it with a fight-or-flight response. Thousands of years ago, we needed this built-in alarm system to recognize threats to our safety and to determine whether to stand and fight or to flee. Oftentimes, that fight-or-flight response gets in the way of clear thinking, and causes or exacerbates a multitude of health problems that develop throughout our lives. The system is supposed to return to a more comfortable state once the threat passes – but since many of us are surrounded by constant stress, we never return to this relaxed state. The relationship between stress and diabetes is complex, but understanding it is key to managing both physical and emotional health.

How Does Stress Affect Diabetes?

Stress causes your body to release certain hormones, which causes your blood sugar levels to rise. Chronic stress – which affects many busy Americans – can wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels. This, of course, is especially dangerous for diabetics whose bodies have trouble regulating their blood sugar levels. Making time for relaxation techniques and exercise can be a crucial part of consistent blood sugar management for people living with diabetes.

How to Tell If Stress Is Affecting Your Blood Sugar

Begin by identifying your stressors. Pay attention to your body and learn to recognize when you’re having an exaggerated or prolonged stress response. For some people, it helps to keep a diary for a few weeks. Does getting up for work send you into a welter of anxiety? Are you overwhelmed with responsibilities in your school or community? Perhaps there’s an issue you have to work out in your marriage, or you’re going through a particularly challenging developmental stage with your children. Maybe you live with a combination of these stressors all the time, and you’re never able to calm down.

Get into the habit of checking your blood sugar whenever you catch yourself having that elevated stress response. Knowing how stress affects your blood sugar can be a powerful tool – if you know what’s affecting you and how, you can take steps to control it.

How to Control Stress

Once you know what’s bothering you, you can do many things:

Create a plan to begin addressing your stressors one by one. Talk to your family, especially loved ones with whom you’ve been in conflict, and let them know how your problems are affecting you. Try to solicit their cooperation in getting your problems under control.
Identify your priorities. Divest yourself of some of your excess responsibilities, or at least delegate some of the tasks to which you never say “no.”
Cultivate a strong support network of trusted friends and the family.
You might benefit from talking to a licensed therapist.
Look into joining an online or in-person support group.
You can also use exercise, meditation, cultivating gratitude, and breathing exercises to get a handle on stress.

When you begin to feel stress symptoms, if possible, step away. Sit or lie down somewhere quiet, or even right there at your desk if necessary, and begin to concentrate on your breathing. Just noticing your breathing goes a long way toward establishing control. Create a slow, deliberate breathing pattern by counting: in through the nose for four seconds, hold for four, and out through the mouth for six. Gradually slow the count down, and you’ll find your whole body slowing down with it.

With your mind, scan your body. Think about each part of your body, progressing from your toes to your scalp. Tell each part to relax. Just this process will calm you down.

If your mind wanders from the breathing exercises or body scan, it doesn’t matter – just bring it back gently.

Start a journal on your phone or in a small book you keep with you. Write down what’s bothering you. The simple act of writing will redirect built-up negative energy away from your body’s fight-or-flight response and help put your problems in perspective.

Exercise

When possible, you can also use exercise to work out stress.
Go for a walk in nature if you can. The combination of fresh air and exercise, as well as taking a break from your stressors, is an excellent balm for a stressed-out mind.
Do some gentle stretching exercises – even just a few shoulder rolls will relax you a bit. Look into chair yoga, which involves easy movements you can do at any fitness level to move your muscles and joints and get your blood flowing – without getting up.

Just as importantly, establish an exercise routine. Experts recommend 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, especially if you’re looking for natural ways on how to lower your blood sugar and improve overall health. Getting your heart rate up and your blood flowing is one of the most effective ways to support blood sugar control and learn how to lower your blood sugar naturally.

There’s no magic cure for all stress, but once you know what’s bothering you, you can take steps to control it. Keeping track of your body’s response to stress also helps. Gentle exercise, meditation, and communication with others can go a long way toward creating a buffer between you and your stressors.

By Tess DiNapoli
who is an artist, freelance writer, and content strategist. She has a passion for yoga and often writes about health and wellness, but also enjoys covering the fashion industry and world of fitness.

Member since March, 2025
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