If you’re trying to keep blood glucose level spikes at bay, it’s essential to look beyond limiting carbohydrates and getting adequate exercise. Although a healthy diet with vegetables and fruits as its foundation is vital, blood sugar levels are not dependent solely on what you eat and drink.
It’s equally important to pay attention to what happens in your bedroom, at the office, with your bank account and in your relationships. Additionally, it’s essential to be smart about how you replace sugar and how much water you drink.
Medical research indicates that inadequate sleep, dehydration, stress and artificial sweeteners can all produce blood sugar spikes.
According to research from the Stanford University School of Medicine, people without diabetes are experiencing rapid spikes in glucose levels, sometimes with the same severity as people with diabetes. And those repeated and prolonged jumps in blood glucose could lead to insulin resistance and eventually diabetes.
Blood glucose, or blood sugar, readings are not the same as A1C. Blood glucose reflects the sugar content in blood at a specific moment in time. It’s measured in milligrams per deciliter, and it will fluctuate throughout the day based on fasting, eating and the content of a meal.
A1C is measured as a percentage, and it reflects the amount of glucose, a form of sugar, attached to hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells. Unlike blood glucose readings that capture glucose levels at the moment of testing, A1C levels show your average blood glucose levels during the last two to four months, as red blood cells, where you find hemoglobin, live between 100 and 120 days.
The Sleep, Glucose Connection
There’s significant research that shows that consistently sleeping four to five hours a night instead of seven hours changes how the body metabolizes glucose and increases the risk of developing diabetes.
But researchers from the University of South Carolina and Arizona State University found that losing just one hour of sleep a night impaired the body’s ability to respond to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.
And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that failing to get adequate sleep one night causes your body to use insulin less efficiently.
Effect of Dehydration
For people with diabetes, dehydration can destabilize blood glucose levels, according to the University of Maryland Medical System. Normal glucose readings are less than 100 milligrams per deciliter.
“Staying well-hydrated is an effective tool to combat fluctuating blood sugars and avoid damage to the kidneys, nerves and cardiovascular system. For people living with diabetes, even mild dehydration can cause significant increases in blood sugar of 50-110 mg/dL or higher, damaging the body over time,” the school’s health services reported.
Researchers at the University of Arkansas Hydration Lab, Arizona State University and the University of Wyoming found that three days of low water intake by people with type 2 diabetes inhibited their body’s response to blood glucose when given an oral glucose tolerance test, which measures how well the body can manage glucose.
Stress and Blood Sugar
Annual surveys from the American Psychological Association about what troubles Americans revealed that concerns about finances, job security, politics, relationships and their personal safety are the primary sources of stress.
To mitigate spikes in blood sugar, it’s crucial to determine what troubles you and find methods of reducing or eliminating those anxious feelings.
“Blood sugar levels may rise due to hormones being released in response to stress. Although this has adaptive significance in a healthy patient, in the long run, it can cause insulin resistance and lead to diabetes,” according to a 2022 study on stress-induced diabetes. And in an unfortunate chicken-or-egg cycle, the researchers found “diabetes may cause abnormalities in the regulation of these stress hormones.”
The research team recommended seeking therapeutic interventions to manage stress because “when there is chronic stress in the body, this leads to the development of insulin resistance due to multiple factors including chronic hyperglycemia,” another term for elevated blood sugar levels.
Fake Sweeteners, Real Risk
If you think you’re doing your body a favor by using artificial sweeteners to curb your carbohydrate intake, it’s time to rethink that premise. Sweeteners such as Splenda, Equal, NutraSweet, Sweet’N Low, Sweet One, Sweet Twin and Sugar Twin can change how your body reacts to real sugar and fool your brain into thinking you’ve eaten a massive dose of sugar.
According to Massachusetts General Hospital, artificial sweeteners “can disrupt how cells recognize insulin, leading to elevated blood sugar levels when normal carbohydrate-containing foods are consumed.”
And because those fake sugars can be “100 to 700 times sweeter than regular sugar, when our taste buds register that level of sweetness, a signal is sent to our brain that a large influx of calories is coming. But because artificial sweeteners contain few or no calories, our brain and taste receptors remain confused. This may cause stronger sugar cravings to develop,” according to a patient education paper on sugar substitutes.
Maintaining a healthy body weight, exercising regularly and limiting simple carbohydrates such as sugary drinks, baked goods, candy, bread, fruit juices, and french fries will help regulate blood sugar levels.
To amplify the benefits of those health choices, ensure you get adequate sleep, manage stress, curtail or eliminate the use of artificial sweeteners and maintain adequate hydration levels.
