“OMG my blood sugars are SO high in the mornings! I just tested before I even got out of bed and it was higher than last night! Why is it so high?!?”
I get messages like this online all the time…and I’m happy to report that this is often totally normal.
How could high blood sugars be normal…isn’t that what causes insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes? Sometimes.
We all have rising blood sugars in the morning. This is NORMAL. This is our body’s way of helping us wake up and have energy to get moving before we are able to eat.
As our nightly melatonin levels drop and we sense daylight, our bodies release cortisol. Yes, that is our “stress” hormone, but that’s only one role for cortisol.
One of the ways cortisol helps us in stress is by raising our blood sugar giving us quick burning energy to fight or flee from the predator we’re facing. This same phenomenon helps us wake up in the mornings – blood sugar rises to fuel cells of our brain, muscles, and organs since we haven’t eaten all night long.
This is normal. It should come down within an hour or so of rising.
If your blood sugars stay elevated for hours after rising (despite not eating), this may be problematic. This could indicate insulin resistance, fatty liver, underlying infection or inflammation, or chronic stress continuing to spike cortisol.
If you really want to know what your blood sugars are doing in response to foods, activities, and stressors, I HIGHLY recommend a continuous glucose monitor. You can learn life changing information about your choices in a few weeks to months!
I can help you get your own CGM and interpret the data. Send me a message to discuss this.
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