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Stress and glucose levels
⏱ 2 minutes read
Did you know that stress can raise your glucose levels? Find out how you can reduce stress to improve your glucose control.
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Physical Activity & Emotional Wellbeing
Learn about the importance of physical activity and emotional wellbeing and their impact on your sugar
levels and diabetes management.
Physical Activity and Type 2 Diabetes
As most of us know, exercise is good for our health, benefiting our hearts, bodies and minds. It has been shown to help prevent conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, enhance brain health, and improve overall wellbeing.1
Physical activity helps to lower glucose levels because our muscles need to use more of it as we work out.2
Benefits for people living with type 2 diabetes
If you're living with diabetes then physical activity is all the more valuable. As well as lowering your glucose levels, it can also help with:
How much exercise do we need?
The World Health Organization recommends that adults should do at least the following every week:
- 2 sessions of muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)
- 2 hours of moderate-intensity cardio OR 1 hour of vigorous-intensity cardio6
However, every little helps. You don’t have to run a marathon – anything that gets you moving is worthwhile, and the more you enjoy it, the more likely you are to keep it up.
Moderate vs. vigorous intensity
If you can talk but would struggle to find the breath to sing, it's moderate intensity.
If you can't keep up a conversation while exercising, it's vigorous intensity.
Top tips for getting (and staying) active
You do more than you think
Physical activity is any form of movement that causes your body to burn calories, like cleaning, gardening and using the stairs.
It all adds up
Take the stairs instead of the lift or park your car a little further away from your destination.
Twenty is plenty
A brisk 20-minute walk each day could be enough to reduce your risk of early death.7
Struggling with stress?
Yoga can be used to tackle stress and anxiety.8 You can either find a local class or stream one into your home at a time to suit you.
Facing foot problems?
Try doing some seated chair exercises. Chest stretches, upper-body twists, ankle flexes, arm raises, and more, are all perfectly possible from a seated position – and all thoroughly worthwhile!
Sprains, strains or joint pains?
Swimming provides a great full-body, low-impact work out – ideal for people with stiff joints, aches or pains.
Emotional Wellbeing and Type 2 Diabetes
As we know, living with diabetes can be challenging. Looking after your emotional wellbeing is just as important as physical health.
The power of positive thinking
There will be good days and difficult days; times when you feel you’ve got this, and times when everything feels a little overwhelming. That’s not just perfectly understandable, it’s also very common, but by learning some simple strategies you can help insulate yourself from potentially damaging thought patterns.
People who are living with diabetes are more prone to depression. Even if you’re not clinically depressed, negative thinking can stop you from managing your health properly.
Reframing negative thoughts
Identify negative thinking
E.g. I'm a failure, I haven't been running for three days.
Examine it
Why haven't you been running - are there mitigating circumstances? Did you run other days this week? Have you done any other physical activity?
Reshape it
I've had a lot on at work but still managed to go running four days this week and I walked home with the groceries instead of catching the bus.
Further reading
How to live well with diabetes
⏱ 6 minutes read
Get familiar with the tools and the resources at your disposal to support your diabetes care with confidence.
