By South Africans with Diabetes
Why is it so important to manage your stress when you have diabetes? Because it has a direct impact on your blood glucose.
When you’re feeling stressed, your body releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This made sense when stress was caused by the appearance of a wild animal: cortisol and adrenaline give you an energy boost for a ‘fight or flight’ response.
Unfortunately, modern day stress is not only something we can’t run away from (like a wild animal), but also, often, chronic. Which means that we are constantly being given a dose of stress hormones – when we’re late for work or rushing to pick up kids or have to speak up in a stressful work situation or any of the hundreds of stressors that life throws at us.
How to manage your stress?
As you can see, it’s really important to learn to manage your stress. This doesn’t have to be complicated! It can be as simple as:
Exercise that makes your heart pump (cardiovascular exercise).
Meditation or deep breathing exercises.
Talking it over with a friend (even better if you walk and talk!)
Looking after yourself and making sure you get enough sleep.
