A Simple Trick To Lower Morning Blood Sugar
If youre type 2 diabetic, you may be wondering why your blood sugar is so high in the morning.
Every other time you test, your levels seem to be within range
But those morning levels, sometimes they are sky high and it puts you in a panic, questioning what on earth you may be doing wrong.
Firstly, stop panicking morning rises are a common occurrence in diabetics. However, it is important to understand why it happens and what you can do about it
Normal And Diabetic Blood Sugar Ranges
For the majority of healthy individuals, normal blood sugar levels are as follows:
- Between 4.0 to 5.4 mmol/L when fasting
- Up to 7.8 mmol/L 2 hours after eating
For people with diabetes, blood sugar level targets are as follows:
- Before meals : 4 to 7 mmol/L for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes
- After meals : under 9 mmol/L for people with type 1 diabetes and under 8.5mmol/L for people with type 2 diabetes
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How Can I Treat Low Blood Sugar
If youve had low blood sugar without feeling or noticing symptoms , you may need to check your blood sugar more often to see if its low and treat it. Driving with low blood sugar can be dangerous, so be sure to check your blood sugar before you get behind the wheel.
Carry supplies for treating low blood sugar with you. If you feel shaky, sweaty, or very hungry or have other symptoms, check your blood sugar. Even if you dont have symptoms but think you may have low blood sugar, check it. If your blood sugar is lower than 70 mg/dL, do one of the following immediately:
- Take four glucose tablets.
- Drink four ounces of fruit juice.
- Drink four ounces of regular soda, not diet soda.
- Eat four pieces of hard candy.
Wait for 15 minutes and then check your blood sugar again. Do one of the above treatments again until your blood sugar is 70 mg/dL or above and eat a snack if your next meal is an hour or more away. If you have problems with low blood sugar, ask your doctor if your treatment plan needs to be changed.
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Work With Your Health Care Team
Most people with diabetes get health care from a primary care professional. Primary care professionals include internists, family physicians, and pediatricians. Sometimes physician assistants and nurses with extra training, called nurse practitioners, provide primary care. You also will need to see other care professionals from time to time. A team of health care professionals can help you improve your diabetes self-care. Remember, you are the most important member of your health care team.
Besides a primary care professional, your health care team may include
- an endocrinologist for more specialized diabetes care
- a registered dietitian, also called a nutritionist
- a nurse
What Is Considered Normal Blood Sugar Levels
You can measure blood sugar levels with an at-home finger-prick test that gives you an instant reading of the mmolâs of sugar per liter of your blood. Generally, depending on the time of day and when you last ate, this can vary between 5.0-10mmol/L.
But what is a normal blood sugar level in Canada? Here is a handy blood sugar level chart based on the guidelines by Diabetes Canada:
Non-diabetic Ranges
Most diabetic adults: 4.0-7.0mmol/L fasted state, 5.0-10mmol/L after eating
Diabetics who are pregnant: < 5.3mmol/L fasted state, < 6.7mmol/L after eating
Gestational diabetics: < 5.3mmol/L fasted state, < 6.7mmol/L after eating
Children with diabetes: 4.0-8.0mmol/L fasted state, 5.0-10.0mmol/L after eating
The wide ranges in each group allow for individual differences. For example, we know that sugar regulation deteriorates with age and in pregnancy. So, if you are elderly you may find that you are on the higher end of each range.
However, each person is different and if you think your blood sugar is not in a normal range, it is important to seek medical advice.
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How Do I Check My Blood Glucose
Picture 1: Poke the side of the finger with the lancet
What Causes High Blood Sugar Levels In The Morning
Commonly known reasons why your blood sugar may be high in the morning include high-carb bedtime snacks and not enough diabetes medications.
Yet two lesser-known reasons may be causing your morning blood sugar woes: the dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect. These causes of high morning blood sugar levels are a result of body changes and reactions that happen while you are sleeping.
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Food And Blood Sugars
Measuring your blood sugar levels occasionally before and after a meal is a good way to observe how your food choices influence your blood sugar levels. Carbohydrate is the nutrient that has the most impact over your blood sugar because both starches and sugars, which constitute the total carb content of a food, are broken down to glucose and, therefore, contribute to elevating your blood sugar after a meal. If you skip breakfast or go for a few hours without eating, you would probably expect your blood sugar levels to decrease, but it actually causes a blood sugar rise in most people.
What Else Can I Do To Help Manage My Blood Sugar Levels
Eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting regular physical activity can all help. Other tips include:
- Keep track of your blood sugar levels to see what makes them go up or down.
- Eat at regular times, and dont skip meals.
- Choose foods lower in calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt.
- Track your food, drink, and physical activity.
- Drink water instead of juice or soda.
- Limit alcoholic drinks.
- For a sweet treat, choose fruit.
- Control your food portions .
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Low Insulin Levels During The Night
You may experience low insulin levels during the night if you take supplemental insulin, either from a pump or daily injections. Most often, there are three reasons that insulin levels might be too low overnight, leading to raised morning blood sugar:
-
Your insulin pump is not set to give you a high enough dose of background insulin overnight.
-
Your injection of long-lasting insulin doesnt provide a high enough dose.
-
You injected the long-lasting insulin too early in the day, and its effects have reduced overnight.
What To Do When Your Blood Sugar Is High Or Low
High blood sugar can harm you. If your blood sugar is high, you need to know how to bring it down. Here are some questions to ask yourself if your blood sugar is high.
- Are you eating too much or too little? Have you been following your diabetes meal plan?
- Are you taking your diabetes medicines correctly?
- Has your provider changed your medicines?
- Is your insulin expired? Check the date on your insulin.
- Has your insulin been exposed to very high or very low temperatures?
- If you take insulin, have you been taking the correct dose? Are you changing your syringes or pen needles?
- Are you afraid of having low blood sugar? Is that causing you to eat too much or take too little insulin or other diabetes medicine?
- Have you injected insulin into a firm, numb, bumpy, or overused area? Have you been rotating sites?
- Have you been less or more active than usual?
- Do you have a cold, flu, or another illness?
- Have you had more stress than usual?
- Have you been checking your blood sugar every day?
- Have you gained or lost weight?
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Make Physical Activity Part Of Your Daily Routine
Set a goal to be more physically active. Try to work up to 30 minutes or more of physical activity on most days of the week.
Brisk walking and swimming are good ways to move more. If you are not active now, ask your health care team about the types and amounts of physical activity that are right for you. Learn more about being physically active with diabetes.
Following your meal plan and being more active can help you stay at or get to a healthy weight. If you are overweight or obese, work with your health care team to create a weight-loss plan that is right for you.
Official Fasting Blood Sugar Ada Recommendation For Someone With Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association recommends a fasting blood sugar target of 80 to 130 mg/dl for most nonpregnant adults with diabetes. However, the fasting blood sugar target may need to be individualized for certain people based on such factors as duration of diabetes, age and life expectancy, cognitive status, other health conditions, cardiovascular complications, and hypoglycemia unawareness. Its important that people with diabetes discuss their target blood sugar goals with their healthcare provider.
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Morning Rituals Proven To Lower Morning Blood Sugar Naturally
If youre a diabetic, you may find that your blood sugar levels are at their peak in the morning. This is due to the fasting period overnight. Its common for blood sugar tests to require a period of fasting beforehand to get the best natural levels.
You need to get your blood sugar levels down right away. The good news is you dont necessarily need to rely on medication. While you will want to take medication in the way that your doctor has prescribed, you will still want to follow these seven-morning rituals. It is possible to reverse type II diabetes and focus on a healthier and more natural lifestyle.
Even if youre not a diabetic, you will want to keep your morning blood sugar levels down. Here are the seven must-follow morning rituals that have proven to lower the blood sugar levels on a morning completely naturally.
What Should My Blood Sugar Be When I Wake Up
Checking your blood sugar first thing in the morning is important. In fact, fasting blood sugar readings really help you determine how to approach the rest of your day. You have to take steps considering how low or high your fasting blood sugar is, and understand how to set your morning target and what to do to achieve it. Let’s find out more about it.
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Will Blood Sugars Rise Later In Morning Without Eating
Keeping track of your blood sugar levels is not only important if you have diabetes, but it can also help you achieve a healthy weight, maintain good energy levels and prevent chronic diseases. You can easily obtain a blood glucose meter at your drugstore to check your blood sugar levels at different times throughout the day to see how your body reacts to the foods you eat. Your blood sugar levels can also change even when you go a few hours without eating. For example, skipping breakfast and not eating in the morning is likely to induce a rise in your blood sugar.
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No More High Blood Sugar In The Morning
Its important to recognise that morning hyperglycemia is fairly normal: its usually your body trying to get you ready for the day .But you can help your body help itself by trying out some changes in your routine or medication. And Hedia wants to help you to help your body to help itself! Give yourself a good morning by visiting the App Store and
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Make Sure Youre Getting Adequate Nutrition Throughout The Day
If you are restricting calories to lose weight, your body may not be getting enough of the basic building blocks it needs to properly manage glucose levels. The same thing can happen in those who are very physically active and consuming energy-dense, but nutrient-poor, diets.
While it is beyond the scope of this article, there is a dynamic interplay between the various metabolic pathways of the body: fat metabolism, ketone metabolism, glucose metabolism, protein metabolism, and more. Your glucose needs can significantly vary depending on which of these metabolic pathways are dominant.
The liver holds approximately 100g of glucose in the form of glycogen. It takes about 24 hours for it to be depleted while fasting or ~90 minutes of moderate-high intensity. Glucose can be synthesized from several substrates , but generally speaking, it is easiest to simply consume the glucose you need.
Therefore, a relatively sedentary person may do well with 50-100g of carbohydrates per day, whereas an athlete or a person with a physically demanding job may do best with 2-4 times that value. The best way to determine your needs, of course, is through accurate monitoring of your glucose levels.
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Diagnosing Prediabetes Type 2 And Type 1 Diabetes
Depending on which country or medical organization you ask, the qualifying numbers for normal versus prediabetes versus diagnosed type 1 or type 2 diabetes can vary slightly. The following blood sugar and A1c the general results are used to diagnosed prediabetes and diabetes according to sources including the American Diabetes Association and Diabetes UK:
Prediabetes
- HbA1c: 5.7 to 6.4 percent
- Fasting: 100 to 125 mg/dL
- 2 hours after a meal: 140 mg/dL to 199 mg/dL
Type 1 or 2 diabetes
- HbA1c: 6.5 percent or higher
- Fasting: 126 mg/dL or higher
- 2 hours after a meal: 200 mg/dL or higher
Please note: Type 1 diabetes tends to develop very quickly which means that by the time symptoms are felt, blood sugar levels are generally well above 200 mg/dL all the time. For many, symptoms come on so quickly they are dismissed as the lingering flu or another seemingly ordinary virus.
By the time blood sugar levels are tested, many newly diagnosed type 1 patients will see levels above 400 mg/dL or higher. If you do suspect that you or a loved-one has type 1 diabetes, visit your primary care or urgent care immediately and ask for a urine test to measure ketones in addition to testing blood sugar levels and A1c.
Read more about ketones at diagnosis in Diabetes StrongsDiabetic Ketoacidosis Guide.
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Some Ways To Help You Prevent High Morning Readings
What should my blood sugar be when I wake up? It depends if you already have diabetes or not. However, you should also know what you could do to keep your blood sugar levels from rising in the morning. Here are few suggestions:
1. Manage Your Body Weight
If you are overweight, consider losing weight to make it easy to manage your blood sugar levels. It really helps when you have been recently diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Weight loss usually helps regulate hormones and increase insulin sensitivity to lower your blood sugar levels. To lose weight, pay attention to your diet first avoid processed foods, eat veggies and fruits, and cut the intake of less-healthy foods. Cranking up your physical activity may also help.
2. Have a Bedtime Snack
Eating something before you go to sleep may help stabilize your blood sugar. Your snack should contain no more than 20g of carbs. This keeps your liver from producing excess glucose while you sleep. Some of the most impressive carb-friend snack options are low-fat yogurt, frozen grapes, small piece of fruit, a serving of fresh salsa and tortilla chips, and soybeans.
3. Have an Active Lifestyle
A Quick Tip
What If My Blood Glucose Is Low In The Morning
Low glucose in the mornings is much less common for a non-diabetic than high glucose levels. We have many counter-regulatory processes in place to make sure our glucose never goes low, since low glucose can be very dangerous. The body has a wide arsenal of tools at its disposal for managing low glucose states including insulin, glucagon, norepinephrine, growth hormone, cortisol, and more.
All that being said, if you are experiencing low glucose in the morning here are a few things to consider:
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Avoid Food At Least 3 Hours Before Bed
Food too close to bedtime causes us to metabolize food poorly while we are sleeping, which can lead to higher glucose values the next morning. Eating earlier, however, allows you to take advantage of higher insulin sensitivity and gives adequate time for the parasympathetic nervous system to begin the process of digestion.
The remedy is simple: try to finish eating all food for the day at least 3 hours before you go to bed. Ideally, this would also include beverages that contain non-caloric sweeteners since they appear to have metabolic effects in the body.
Normal Vs Optimal Blood Sugar Ranges
Ive written extensively about the difference between normal and optimal blood markers here, and the same applies to your blood sugar ranges.
From the perspective of conventional medicine, a fasting blood sugar level of 100-125 mg/dL indicates prediabetes.
Two consecutive fasting glucose levels of 126 mg/dL indicates diabetes, as well as a random glucose reading of 200 mg/dL , and a 2-hour post-meal reading of 200 mg/dL .
But much of the data in conventional medicine comes from populations who are not enjoying optimal health.
So what does a healthy daily glucose response look like from the perspective of preventative medicine?
On waking: Research indicates that your optimal glucose after waking in the morning should be between 82-88 mg/dL . This level is associated with optimal aging, the lowest risk of chronic disease, and the lowest mortality risk.
After meals: Blood sugar peaks between 1 and 2 hours after the meal and should be back down to fasting levels by 3 hours post-meal. From the perspective of optimal health, you should avoid regularly eating foods that raise your blood sugar over 100 mg/dl .
One strategy to test the impact of your diet on your long-term health is to measure your blood sugar before and after meals.
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