How being in the present can put your stress from diabetes in the past.

Stress is a natural part of life. It helps us stay alert and ready for life’s challenges.³⁶² All the day-to-day stressors in life–work, commuting, family, world events–do a pretty good job keeping us all on edge. Now imagine loading on the stress that comes with living with diabetes. With the worries about controlling your glucose, your future, and all the other places your mind takes you while you’re doing your best to manage your health.³³⁹

Stress impacts you and your A1c.

Stress releases hormones like cortisol, the juice that puts you in “fight or flight” mode.³⁶³ It can cause your muscles to tense, your heart rate to go up, and your glucose levels to spike. And chronic hyperglycemia (high glucose levels) can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.³⁶²

There’s another concern to watch out for if stress gets out of hand, it’s called diabetes burnout. It stems from feeling overwhelmed by the continual efforts to manage diabetes. And the belief that despite a person’s best efforts, they’re having no success at caring for themself.³³⁹

The symptoms of diabetes burnout vary from person to person, but Diabetes UK describes them as:³⁶⁴

Feeling angry about diabetes and frustrated about the demands of managing it
Worrying about not taking enough care of your diabetes but not feeling motivated to change
Avoiding going to appointments or checking you blood sugars
Making unhealthy food choices regularly
Feeling alone and isolated

An elderly man adds milk to his coffee with a smartphone displaying the Libre app on the table beside him.

Mindfulness. Stress just can’t stand it.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, or MBSR, is a meditation practice that has grown in popularity over the last 40 years. Developed in 1979 by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and his colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, MBSR was originally designed to help people manage stress and pain from medical illnesses. Since its first applications, MBSR has grown to be used for a wider range of health issues. As well as to improve general health and help people reduce their overall stress.³⁶⁶

Your A1c may find it soothing, too.

When you begin to use mindfulness, your emotions aren’t the only things that improve. In 2023, researchers at Keck School of Medicine of USC published an analysis of multiple studies that suggests that your state of mind can impact your body and glucose levels. The findings showed that those who participated in mind-body activities lowered their A1C by 0.84%, on average.³⁶⁷

How mindfulness works.

We’ll spare you the scientific explanation. In human terms, mindfulness is the practice where you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. There’s a wide range of exercises you can do to relax your body and mind to help reduce stress, including breathing methods, guided imagery, and other activities. Best of all, you can practice mindfulness anywhere and anytime, but finding a quiet, somewhat distraction-free place is usually preferred.³⁶⁸

Try these 3 easy, mindfulness exercises from Mayo Clinic³⁶⁸

1) Focused breathing.

A woman with her eyes closed meditates while in a communal yoga class, a relaxing method of boosting holistic health.

There are many mindfulness practices centered around breathing. When you’re overcome with negative thoughts, try this one:

Find a comfortable place to sit down.
Take in a deep breath and close your eyes.
Bring your full attention to your deep breathing, focusing on the sensation of the air flowing in and out of your body.
Continue as long as you want, but doing this exercise for even a minute can be very beneficial.

2) Body scan meditation.

A woman lies on her back on a mat in a yoga pose, a popular way to boost holistic health.

We all have a body, so why not put it to good use relieving some stress? Try this quick mental scan when you’re feeling anxious, uneasy, or nervous:

Lie on your back. Make sure your legs are extended, and your arms are at your side with palms facing up.
Focus you attention slowly and deliberately on each part of your body. You can start with the bottom of your feet, followed by your toes, the tops of your feet, and continue upward.
Take a moment at each body part to be aware of any sensations, emotions, or thoughts—without judging them as good or bad.
When you reach the top of your head, you can either stop or wander back down to your feet making sure you identify and feel those sensations at each stop along the way.

3) Walking meditation.

Our feet are great receptors for the world around us, and a surprisingly therapeutic touchpoint for our attention. Here’s how to take your stress out for a little stroll:

Find a quiet place inside or outside that gives you 3 to 6 meters to walk.
Begin to walk slowly, focusing on the experience of walking. Be aware of the sensation of standing, and the movements of your legs and of your feet touching down.
Feel the surface of the ground and focus on how your body keeps you balanced.
When you reach the end of your walk, turn and walk back to where you began. Again, being aware of each step and the details of your body parts moving.

Libre 2 Plus system—a great way to be mindful of your glucose.

Beyond using those deep cleansing breaths, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can help you keep track of your glucose levels. With the Libre 2 Plus system, you can manage your diabetes with more confidence.⁷

Less stress + more knowledge = lower A1c.

The Libre 2 Plus system includes a little wearable sensor—about the size of a 50 cent coin—that sends glucose level readings to a smartphone app¹³ or reader. Those continuous readings have been proven to help people with diabetes achieve significantly lower A1c^27,39—without finger pricks.¹⁰ All in all, the Libre 2 Plus system is the small but mighty way to make more informed decisions⁷ and take actions that can add up to big changes over time.