Is Stress Screwing Up Your Blood Sugar?

Have you noticed in times of stress, especially chronic stress, that you feel puffier, thicker around the middle, or become immediately hangry? One of your main stress hormones is called Cortisol. If cortisol had a resume, the first thing it would say is, “I increase your blood sugar!” Unfortunately, this is not talked about enough as stress could be part of the reason your blood sugar is higher than optimal and playing a role in your symptoms.

Cortisol is a nervous system hormone made by your adrenal glands that sit on top of your kidneys. Yes, you have two adrenal glands! Cortisol is known as a gluco-cortico-steroid hormone. “Gluco” because it raises glucose (blood sugar) in times of stress so you have it readily available for your brain and muscles to fight or run. In an acute stress situation, you WANT your stress hormones to release and you WANT your glucose to spike in order to help you survive and thrive.

The problem comes with chronic stress or stress that seems to never end, especially if you struggle to manage what’s going on and your blood sugar.

According to most labs,

• Normal fasting blood glucose is 70-100mg/dL.

• Pre-diabetes has fasting levels between 101-125mg/dL

• Diabetes is diagnosed with a fasting level of 126mg/dL or higher on two separate tests.

Now, ideally I think that your fasting levels should be between 70-90mg/dL as I’m pushing for optimal and health span, but that’s a different topic.

In my own experience years ago, I noticed my blood sugar went up 20 points while really mad. I was wearing a continuous glucose monitor in my arm and had swiped it fasting. It read 85mg/dL. I received a maddening text message as I was walking out the door to run errands. I did not respond to the message however in my 20 minute drive to the store, I was angrily forming my argument out loud. My body clearly felt threatened and my glucose shot up. When I got to the store, my blood sugar was 105mg/dL! PHEW! That’s not good but it was an immediate reality check for me and stressful emotions.

I have also seen my morning fasting glucose levels higher than average for me on days that I don’t sleep well, wake up stressed or anticipating a busy, stressful day.

The rise in glucose in that moment was not due to my food choices as I had not eaten yet. Instead, they were due to a NATURAL survival mechanism for a perceived fight or flight situation by my nervous system.

Thankfully, I wasn’t in an actual survival situation but the body doesn’t know the difference.

Angry text or angry tiger = release glucose and prepare to fight or flight.

Of course, diet, exercise, sleep, and more play a big role here!

You can’t eliminate stress but now that you know your reaction to stress plays a role in your blood sugar, it can help with how you manage it or set boundaries.

Quick “time outs” to reduce stress are helpful. Doing a few minutes of deep breathing, a 5 minute meditation or listen to calming music, get up and dance or shake it off, or even sing Frozen’s Let It Go.

The body feels less threatened thus more safe in situations when you feel joy, are laughing, playing, and with trusted community.

Be aware of areas in your life you CAN control for your health. Have you eaten enough protein? Had enough water? Do you need some extra electrolytes or minerals like magnesium? Have you been sleeping lately or are you up scrolling mindlessly before bed? Do you need a walk and some fresh air? Can you say no to that meeting, event, or volunteer request right now?

If the stress is feeling way bigger than you, also consider seeking outside help! Somatic therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, EMDR therapy are examples to explore to help your nervous system feel more regulated.

There is a fitting meme that says “Drink water. Get sunlight. We are all just houseplants with more complicated emotions.”

If you’ve been banging your head against a wall as to why your glucose is higher than you would like despite nutrition and exercise, consider it might be a stress response!

Bonus: You can read more about my favorite high cortisol herbs here!