STRESS AND BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS 😬

When you’re experiencing physical or emotional stress, hormones are released that increase your blood sugar.

Cortisol and adrenaline are the primary hormones involved.

This is a normal and needed response in life threatening situations but can wreak havoc on your health when it is a response to chronic stress.

For example, if you’re being chased by a barking dog or you’re in a dangerous situation, you need sugar to fuel your muscles to prepare for a “fight or flight” situation.

But when you’re stressed, your body releases these hormones, even if there isn’t a major physical threat involved.

This results in higher blood pressure, increased heart rate and a rise in blood sugar. The problem becomes more complicated. If you’re consistently under stress, your hormones and sugar will continue to surge. Over time, this can put you at risk for:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Headaches
• Sleep problems
• Chronic anxiety
• Depression

Some tips to counteract the effect of stress are:

1. Take deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four, wait for a count of seven, and exhale for a count of eight. Try to do this a total of 8 times. This is amazing to reduce anxiety.

2. Exercise regularly. Gardening, dancing, and riding your bike all count as exercise.

3. Get plenty of sleep. 7-9 hours of sleep daily is recommended.

4. Try biofeedback. This can help with stress, anxiety, pain management and more.

5. Use adaptogen supplements such as rhodiola and ashwaganda to help counteract the deleterious effects of stress on the body and adrenals.

6. Try guided meditations. There are excellent websites such as www.monroeinstitute.com that offer several free short guided meditations. There are apps such as Headspace available as well. You can start with very short meditations only 5 minutes long and work up as you progress.

Please share if you have something that works well for you by telling me in the comments!