blood sugar management

As part of a healthy lifestyle, regular physical activity can help prevent and manage noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. It can also improve mental health and quality of life. Physical activity includes all movements you make in your daily routine that require the use of your muscles and bones. Examples include walking, cycling, wheeling and sport activities. It can be done at almost any level of intensity and for enjoyment by everybody.

The relationship between exercise and blood sugar support is complex. It depends on the type of exercise, its duration and your glucose levels before and after exercise. It’s important to work with your doctor and fitness expert before starting an exercise program or increasing the amount of time you spend exercising. They can explain how the different types of exercise affect your blood sugars and provide recommendations for the best times to perform them.

Exercise increases insulin sensitivity, which means your muscle cells are more able to take up glucose for energy. This can happen whether or not you’re taking insulin during your workout. This is a good thing, because the more your muscles use glucose for energy, the less blood sugar will rise or fall.

How does regular physical activity impact blood sugar management?

Steady-state cardio exercises like jogging and gentle swimming are more effective at controlling your blood sugar than intense cardiovascular exercise. This is because they don’t require the body to release quick bursts of energy, so they get more of their energy from fat stores and cause a lower increase in blood sugar.

If you want to increase your level of physical activity, try adding short periods of higher-intensity exercise. For example, HIIT (high-intensity interval training) involves short periods of intense cardio exercises, such as running or cycling, alternating with short periods of low-to-moderate intensity activities. HIIT can give you the same benefits of aerobic exercise as steady-state cardio, but in half the time.

Strength training is another great way to get more physical activity. This type of exercise builds muscle mass and endurance. It also increases your metabolism. Strength training can be performed with weights, bodyweight exercises or resistance bands. Try doing a variety of strength-training exercises on two or more days of the week.

Research has shown that people with type 2 diabetes who engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity a week experience a lower risk of heart disease than those who don’t meet these guidelines. This is especially true if you do so in addition to other heart-healthy behaviors, such as eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy body weight and not smoking.