Many health care professionals recommend exercise to help improve blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity in people with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Exercise also reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.
However, exercise can cause hypoglycemia, especially in people with type 1 diabetes, and to a lesser extent in people with type 2 diabetes who use insulin.
The most important useful tips for diabetics during exercise:
Low blood sugar and fear of hypoglycemia can be barriers to exercise and exercise in general. But there are strategies people can use to reduce the incidence of hypoglycemia, such as eating more and reducing insulin doses before and after exercise.
The effect of exercise on blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity?
Exercising increases glucose uptake by the muscles and liver so that the body can use it for additional energy. The body then absorbs glucose from your blood to rebuild these stores, thus lowering your blood sugar. Exercise also makes your body more sensitive to insulin, so you need less insulin during and after physical activity.
However, the type, intensity, and duration of activity can affect blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity:
Aerobic exercise usually lowers blood sugar levels during and after exercise.
Endurance exercise or prolonged exercise can increase the use of blood sugar and increase the risk of developing hypoglycemia. Resistance or high-intensity exercise can also cause your blood sugar to rise during and after exercise. Also, mixing short, high-intensity bursts with moderate aerobic exercise might reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and improve blood sugar stability.
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Is it possible to adjust the insulin dose before exercising?
Low blood sugar may occur during and after exercise. To prevent this from happening, you can reduce your basal or long-acting insulin dose before your morning workout if you have several injections per day. If you are using an insulin pump, you can pause the pump at the start of your workout. It is important not to hang it for more than 90 minutes.
Another option is to lower your base heart rate 30 to 60 minutes before your workout, which you can continue even after your workout is over.
You may also need to reduce your dose of insulin at mealtime. If you plan to do light to moderate aerobic exercise within two to three hours of taking your insulin, you may need to reduce your insulin by 25% to 75% depending on how long you plan to exercise.
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If you plan to do high-intensity or aerobic exercise for an extended period of time, adjustments are not recommended by health care professionals.
You can ask your doctor how to adjust your insulin dose before exercising.
What is your target blood sugar before exercise? What do you do if your blood sugar is high or low?
If your pre-workout blood sugar is between 90 and 250 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) this will help you a lot. And if your blood sugar is below 90 mg/dL, eat 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrates about 15 to 30 minutes before exercise. Choose carbohydrates that your body can absorb quickly, such as:
glucose tablets.
Solid sweets.
fruits.
juices;
biscuit.
Depending on the frequent blood sugar test, you can repeat this every 30 minutes during exercise. Less than 30 minutes of exercise or high-intensity exercise may not require additional carbohydrate intake.
If your blood sugar is high, possibly over 250 mg/dL, check your urine for ketone bodies. Don't do any exercise while you're in ketosis. Correct high blood sugar and wait until the ketone bodies are gone in the urine before exercising.
If you don't have ketones, you can do light to moderate exercise. However, avoid high intensity as this can exacerbate high blood sugar.
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Are there types of exercise that can raise blood sugar? Do I take insulin during exercise?
Consistently doing high-intensity exercise can raise your blood sugar levels. This is due to the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, as well as other anti-regulatory hormones such as glucagon, which raise blood sugar by stimulating the liver to release glucose. Your blood sugar levels may rise during or even after exercise.
It is important not to give corrective doses during exercise. When you're done, to lower your blood sugar, you can drink water or do light aerobic exercise. If that doesn't work, you can get corrective insulin injections, but at the same blood sugar levels, you'll usually get half of it.
What is the result of prolonged and more intense exercise than expected?
If you exercise for a longer time or more intensely than planned, you may put yourself at risk of developing hypoglycemia during exercise. Try checking your blood sugar every 30 minutes during long periods of exercise. If your blood sugar is below 90 mg/dL, eat a snack with 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrates and keep exercising.
If your blood sugar falls below 70 mg/dL, you may start to feel symptoms of hypoglycemia.
In this case, you should stop exercising and treat low blood sugar. So don't exercise until you have corrected your low blood sugar.
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What are the symptoms of low blood sugar during and after exercise?
Hypoglycemia occurs when the blood sugar level falls below 70 mg/dL. Symptoms can vary from person to person, so the only way to be sure is to check your blood sugar. Some of the early symptoms include:
- Feeling of vibration.
- sweating;
- feeling hungry
- increased heart rate;
You may feel some other symptoms if your blood sugar continues to be low, and they are as follows:
- irritability or anxiety
- Dizziness and headache.
- excessive drowsiness;
- blurred vision
Very low blood sugar, often less than 40 mg/dL, may include:
- confusion
- seizures
- loss of consciousness
- the death
If you have symptoms of low blood sugar and cannot be tested, continue treatment. One method that is used (the 15-15 rule) is to treat mild to moderate hypoglycemia. This treatment involves eating 15 grams of carbohydrates and waiting 15 minutes before checking your blood sugar. If the blood sugar is still less than 70 mg/dL, the process is repeated.
A severe drop in blood sugar is considered a medical emergency that requires calling 911 to avoid any danger.
How long does it take for blood sugar levels to drop after exercise? Can the insulin dose be adjusted?
Blood sugar continues to drop 4 to 8 hours after exercise. This is because muscles deplete their glycogen stores during intense and prolonged activity and need to be replenished. You can help prevent low blood sugar by eating carbohydrates, such as granola or mixed dried fruits, after you exercise slowly. At the same time, you should also reduce the dose of insulin after exercise.
A small 2013 study found that reducing dietary insulin doses by 50% after exercise helped prevent hypoglycemia as early as 8 hours after exercise.
If you have several injections per day, reducing basal insulin by 20% per day can help prevent hypoglycemia. If you use an insulin pump, reducing your basal heart rate by 20% within 5 to 6 hours of exercise can reduce your risk of falling at night.
Many factors can affect your insulin dose adjustment. You can consult your doctor about adjusting your insulin dose after exercise to avoid low blood sugar.
If you exercise in the evening, especially if you take your usual dose of insulin after dinner, you may often be more likely to develop nocturnal hypoglycemia.However, if this is the best time for you given your lifestyle, you can reduce your risk by reducing your nightly insulin dose and eating post-workout snacks.
