Stress management

By: Dr. Ripudaman Singh
STRESS CAN AFFECT YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL

  

Let us talk about how Stress can affect your Blood Sugar level and why it is so important that we keep our blood sugar in balance.

Everyone experiences stress in their lives - emotional, physical and occupational.

Day in and day out, life and our reactions to it cause physiological stress on our bodies. This stress not only triggers a spike in our sugar level, but also can result in more serious illness.

So how does stress cause an increase in blood sugar?

Stress results in overproduction of Cortisol, a hormone that counteracts the effect of insulin and results in elevated blood sugar. Cortisol is also known as our fight or flight hormone, this means the more stress we have the more Cortisol our body will produce which over time this will reduce the bodies sensitivity to insulin. Cortisol, as an insulin antagonist, makes it harder for glucose to enter the cells and, therefore raises blood sugar.

Consequently, stress can lead to chronic elevated sugar blood sugar. People with diabetes may be additionally stressed from trying to cope with the disease. Daily stress can interfere with the management of diabetes and make it difficult to control our blood sugar.

The good news is that the best way to relieve stress is to focus on bettering your health and well-being. When you experience improvement, especially blood sugar control, you're naturally going to feel better.

Below mentioned steps will help you keep your blood sugar in balance and bottom line will let you reduce your stress by taking control of you health. Studies have shown that by reducing stress you can lower your blood sugar.

Here are some simple ideas to help you relieve stress...

Breathe deeply, hold your breath, then slowly release Walk your pet Take a stroll through nature Positive affirmations Exercise Avoid mood altering substances i.e. caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and   sugar Find your own way to bring yourself peace, balance and calm and make   time to practice these techniques

 If you have uncontrolled diabetes or trouble balancing your blood sugar, the best way to relieve stress is to focus on taking control of your health and overall well-being.