For health professionals
Nobody likes stress. We experience stress as tension: emotionally, physically, or both at the same time.
But stress is a normal part of everyday life. It’s how your body responds to things like arguing with a friend, getting stuck in traffic or facing a big deadline.
The thing is, when you have diabetes, stress can make it a lot harder to manage.
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Feeling stressed can throw a gigantic wrench into your regular management routine. You may skip meals, forget to take your medication or not get enough exercise. All of which have an impact on blood sugar levels.
Experiencing stress also leads to physical changes. In response to stressful situations, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream — increasing your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate.
Faced with too much stress, these elevated hormone levels can disrupt the way your body is supposed to work. That can lead to anxiety, poor sleep, digestive problems or weight gain, further contributing to changes in your blood sugar.
While you can’t completely eliminate stress, there are a number of ways you can help keep it — and your diabetes — under control.
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