Can Stress Cause High Blood Sugar? What You Need to Know

Both emotional and physical stress can be detrimental to the body in many ways. One of the effects it could have on health is a spike in blood sugar levels. When the body experiences high levels of chronic stress, it releases more cortisol, the primary stress hormone. A higher serum cortisol level causes the body to decrease insulin secretion. Insulin helps bring sugar into cells from the bloodstream, where it’s used for energy. Without the proper release of insulin, more sugar remains in the bloodstream and blood sugar levels become imbalanced.

Stress can affect blood sugar both directly and indirectly. Its effects can also vary depending on the type of diabetes a person has. Chronic stress can lead to prolonged high levels of cortisol and ultimately a lowered insulin secretion in the long run. This makes stress both dangerous for those with diabetes and a possible risk factor for its development.

How Stress Affects the Body

The body releases cortisol when stressed. The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a system in the brain made up of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and adrenal glands, controls cortisol production and how much is released during physical and emotional stress.

When the body experiences stress—emotionally or physically—it releases cortisol to help address the perceived threat, manage blood pressure, and reduce inflammation. Cortisol triggers the fight-or-flight response, preparing the body to confront or escape danger. Cortisol also prompts the liver to release glucose and fatty acids for energy.

While cortisol release was essential for survival historically, today, stress sources have shifted, causing cortisol to be released even when it’s unnecessary.

Types of Stress

Stress is categorized into emotional and physical types. Emotional or mental stress originates internally, resulting from situations like job interview nerves, traffic anger, or losing a loved one.

Physical stress arises from external sources, like strenuous exercise, extended physical activity, or injuries. Long-term exposure to either type of stress can contribute to health issues, including heart disease, cancer, immune suppression, and diabetes.

Stress In People with Type 1 Diabetes

Stress can affect people with type 1 diabetes by either raising or lowering blood sugar levels. Chronic stress can sometimes lead to adrenal fatigue, a condition where long-term stress exhausts the adrenal glands, resulting in low cortisol production. This hormonal imbalance can affect blood sugar regulation.

Research has also considered the role of stress in causing diabetes. Some studies suggest that chronic stress may contribute to the development of type 1 diabetes in individuals who are already at risk.

Stress in People with Type 2 Diabetes

For people with type 2 diabetes, high levels of stress can lead to an increase in blood sugar levels. When there is a high level of cortisol in the body, it causes body tissues to be less sensitive to insulin. Therefore, more blood sugar is available in the bloodstream. When this happens, blood sugar levels become imbalanced and can reach dangerously high levels, especially if it is left untreated.

Other Ways Stress Causes High Blood Sugar

There are other ways that stress can lead to spikes in blood sugar. During periods of stress, people may participate in behaviors that could lead to high blood sugar such as emotional overeating of refined carbohydrates or foods that are high in added sugars. People may also fail to exercise or take their medications when they’re supposed to. Since stress has the ability to change healthy habits, these factors can all lead to elevated blood sugar levels.

Stress can also affect sleep because stress and sleep are both controlled by the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. When a person is under high stress and the axis is encouraging the extra production of cortisol, changes in the axis occur. This leads to problems with getting quality sleep as well as changes in sleeping patterns. When a person isn’t getting enough sleep, it can cause glucose intolerance, which describes metabolic conditions that cause high blood sugar levels.

What to Do if You Have a Blood Sugar Spike

For those with diabetes, having a blood sugar spike can be dangerous because too much sugar in the blood passes into the urine. This triggers the body to filter out the fluid, which could lead to dehydration or a diabetic coma.

In the event that blood sugar levels spike because of stressors that cannot be managed, it’s vital to make managing your blood glucose a priority. You can do this by focusing on things you can control, such as your diet and exercise, checking your blood sugar regularly, and taking your medications as instructed by your physician.

How to Manage Your Stress Levels

Some forms of stress cannot be managed, especially if they are not frequent in nature such as a one-time traumatic event or an accidental injury. Other types of stress, such as taking care of family, work stressors, or any other day-to-day stressful situations, will likely be there permanently or semipermanently. These types of stressful events are the ones that need to be managed as best you can.

To do this, you can proactively plan ahead. This means being prepared for the regular stressors of life and managing your time, reading self-help books, or minimizing the source of stress as much as possible. Calming exercises such as yoga and meditation have also been proven to reduce stress levels. You will also want to avoid indulging in unhealthy behaviors such as overeating. It may seem comforting at the time, but it will not help to relieve the stress you are experiencing.

Setting realistic and manageable goals is also a big stress reducer for those with diabetes. Instead of focusing on a large and vague goal such as losing weight, setting a goal of walking for at least a half-hour every day on specific days of the week will be much more achievable.