Exercising is usually associated with being helpful, especially when people are suffering from any diseases, pains or sicknesses. In most cases, exercise is a positive and beneficial way to help ease symptoms, cure pains, and release endorphins to create a more positive experience. With diabetes, exercise can be both beneficial and harmful. People who have diabetes have to watch their blood sugar levels, and exercise can affect the blood sugar levels in a person’s body greatly. Exercise helps lower blood sugar levels because it helps your body burn more sugar. This is due to the fact that insulin is more effective during exercise. Usually, after one hour of exercise, blood sugars will stay lower than usual until the next morning. Exercise can also lead to blood sugar levels getting higher. This may happen because the body is releasing adrenaline, making you excited. Adrenaline causes sugar to be released from stores in the muscle and the liver, and the heightened blood sugar usually happens within in the first hour of exercise. It is important to monitor your blood sugar before and after exercise. Exercise can help with blood sugar levels, too. You will gave a healthier heart and blood vessels, which will only help with the diabetes and blood sugar levels along the way.
Low Blood Sugar Levels:
One of the worst things that can happen during exercise is that your blood sugar level gets extremely low, and you pass out. This situation is one that needs to avoided at all costs. There are many ways to ensure that your blood sugar levels do not get to a dangerously low level during exercise. If you have just been diagnosed with diabetes, or you are starting a new exercise program or routine, check with your doctor to ensure that exercise is okay for you. Once you are in the clear with the doctor, you will want to monitor your blood sugar levels to see how your body is reacting to the exercise.
Recording Your Blood Sugar Levels:
When recording your blood sugar levels, write down the date and time you started exercising. You will want to state what your blood sugar was just before the exercise, what your last dose of insulin was before exercise, and the time you took the insulin. You will want to then record what your blood sugar was after the exercise, and what time you stopped exercising. This will give you and your doctor a clear depiction of how the exercise is benefiting you and your blood sugar levels, and help alert you to any odd or low blood sugar levels that exercise may be causing.
Proper Preparation:
You will want to eat before a particularly strenuous workout. Try and start the exercise 30 to 60 minutes after your meal. The reason you want to eat before a workout is because it helps prevent your blood sugar levels from getting too low in a workout. This is because your body digests solid food slowly, and the solid food usually keeps the blood sugar level up for at least 2 to 3 hours. With a higher blood sugar level available to you from a meal, exercising after is smart because you can use the high blood sugar to workout without worry of dropping to a low blood sugar level.
Having extra snacks around you during exercise is important. If you feel that your blood sugar level is dropping during exercise, you want to make sure you treat it quickly. Keeping sugar packets, sugar cubes, or other sweets around can provide you with temporary relief. If you are going to be working out longer than an hour, make sure to bring a larger, more filling snack to help bring your blood sugar levels back to normal.