| Physical and Mental stress can Raise Blood Sugar | | | | Once you've pinpointed your stressors and notice |
| levels | | | | which ones send your blood sugar levels soaring, you'll |
| Stress, such as that caused by ongoing financial | | | | need to devise some ways to chill out. What helps |
| worries, being laid off or the pain of arthritis is | | | | keep stress under wraps and relaxes you. |
| certainly emotionally draining. | | | | * Try progressive relaxation therapy, in which you |
| The problem may be compounded because under | | | | practice tensing and relaxing major muscle groups in |
| these pressures, you may lose your appetite and | | | | sequence. A study published in the journal Diabetes |
| skimp on eating, or reach for not-so healthy quick | | | | Care showed that just five weekly sessions of a |
| fixes like candy or chips. Some people actually "stress | | | | relaxation therapy can reduce blood sugar levels |
| eat" (overeat during stressful periods). Others skip | | | | significantly. |
| their daily workout because they're too strained or | | | | * Talk to a therapist. Talking about your problems is |
| run down to keep it up, which can create a vicious | | | | a reliable way to alleviate the stress that stems from |
| cycle since exercise is an excellentway to lower | | | | them. |
| blood sugar. | | | | * Step back from the situation. Remove yourself |
| Most important thing is to learn what it feels like | | | | from the stressor. |
| when stresshormones are elevated | | | | * Keep up your healthy eating and exercise routine. |
| Since stress has virtually become a way of life, you | | | | Exercise can help lower blood sugar, so a stressful |
| may not even notice you're frazzled. Being in tune to | | | | phase is not the time to forgo the stair stepper. |
| your stress level and how you feel when the going | | | | * Take up yoga, meditation, or deep breathing. Make |
| gets tense is important. One good gauge is writing | | | | routine for these aspect of life and should be an |
| down your stress level in a journal each time you | | | | active way of living. |
| check your blood sugar. | | | | * Eliminate caffeine. Caffeine can impair your body's |
| Stress plays a more direct role in the control of blood | | | | ability to handle sugar and increase the amount of |
| sugar than it does in any other disease, People with | | | | stress hormones, which may increase blood sugars. |
| diabetes should stay conscious of eating well, | | | | * Take up a relaxing hobby. If knitting or pottery |
| exercising regularly and taking nutritional | | | | calms you down, join a class or find a workshop. But |
| supplementation. It's a good idea to check blood | | | | if you stress over every imperfection in your project, |
| glucose levels more frequently when you're ill or | | | | save the hobby for a less stressed-out time, and |
| under stress and to drink plenty of fluids as so as | | | | take a hot bath instead. |
| not to get dehydrated. | | | | |