Can Stress Cause Diabetes? How Are They Linked?
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin or when the body is unable to use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone responsible for regulating glucose levels in the blood. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), around 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and the majority of people are living in lower—and middle-class countries. Every year, there are more than 1 million deaths occur worldwide due to diabetes. Although there are numerous causes for diabetes, one of the significant reasons is Stress. You might wonder if – Can Stress Cause Diabetes? Let’s go through the blog and dive into the details to understand the root cause and track its prevalence.
Overview of Diabetes
Before we understand how stress is related to diabetes, let’s get an understanding of this disease. It is caused by improper balance of glucose levels or when the body is unable to get sugar from the blood. Glucose is an integral source of energy, and due to a lack of insulin in the bloodstream, this forms sugar in the blood that leads to severe diseases. Can stress cause diabetes? it can fluctuate sugar levels in the body. Majorly you will find the following three different types of diabetes:
Type 1 Diabetes: It is an autoimmune disease that mistakenly attacks the immune system and destroys the pancreas, which produces insulin. This damage can be of a permanent nature as well.
Type 2 Diabetes: It is an insulin resistance caused by a genetic condition and weight gain. This means that the body cannot use insulin properly, and as a result, the pancreas produces more insulin.
Gestational Diabetes: This is caused by insulin-blocking hormones and is produced during pregnancy; it is often seen among people who have an existing history of diabetes in the family.
How Can Stress Cause Diabetes?
Stress can be termed a responsive measure of how the body and mind react to difficult or new situations. Whenever we talk about diabetes, we usually focus on other key factors like heredity, but have you ever thought that – Can stress cause diabetes? There is no perfect answer to this, as it depends on various factors. Stress does not directly cause diabetes; however, it fluctuates glucose levels, affecting your overall lifestyle. Stress can directly affect your physical and emotional well-being. Stress and diabetes are not directly related however, if any individual keeps struggling with stress for a longer while, it can keep blood sugar levels high and put you at the risk of getting the complication of diabetes.
Emotional distress can affect blood sugar levels and create unhealthy patterns of diabetes complications. When the body gets stressed out, it releases a hormone called adrenaline, which can lead to the heart racing and muscles tensing up. It can directly spike glucose levels in the blood and also increase stress levels, triggering the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Long-term exposure to stress hormones can lead to insulin impairment and another condition called insulin resistance.
How Can We Reduce Stress With a Healthy Lifestyle?
As we got the answer for – Can stress cause diabetes? Let’s move to another lifestyle improvement that leads to support managing stress and overall health by regulating blood levels. For effective stress management, you can follow different lifestyle habit that helps to manage overall health:
Regular Exercise
Working on physical activities regularly with an active lifestyle while releasing feel-good hormones. Also, daily exercises and other physical activities like walking, swimming, and yoga can easily improve insulin sensitivity and regulate blood sugar levels to improve overall well-being.
Consume Nutritious Food
Can stress cause diabetes? Yes, but following a balanced and nutrition-rich diet will help improve physiological health and reduce stress. Make a habit of consuming foods that are rich in minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants instead of sugary and processed foods that spike blood sugar levels.
Focusing On Self-Care
If you avoid self-care rituals, there will be significant risks to your physical and mental health. Taking out time for activities to bring more joy and relaxation to manage stress levels.
Making self-care a regular part of your routine can help regulate stress and diabetes.
Practice Stress Reduction Technique
Next, for stress management, you can practise deep breathing, massage, meditation, and yoga. These are stress reduction techniques that activate the body’s relaxation response to regulate emotional distress and elevate physical health.
Be Stress-Free to Reduce the Risk of Diabetes!
By eliminating stress from your life and maintaining healthy food habits, there will certainly be no risk for diabetes. So, to address the question – Can stress cause diabetes? It can be stated that, to some extent, it does, as stress can impact the body’s hormone and glucose levels. So, keep following the right routine to balance out stress and diabetes.
FAQs
Can stress result in low sugar levels?
Stress can result in lower and higher blood sugar levels as it can directly result in sugar level fluctuations.
What are the 5 pillars of stress management?
The five pillars of stress management are Healthy Nutrition, Self-Care, Exercise, Sleeping Well, and relaxation time.
How can you relax your mind to reduce stress?
You can practise deep and slow breathing, which is an effective exercise to bring on deep relaxation.
Can food help in managing stress?
You can consume healthy food to manage stress, like oranges, oysters, avocados, fruit juice and chocolates to regulate your stress.
Does the sleep pattern affect stress?
Yes, disturbed sleeping patterns for a long can result in chronic stress and anxiety.