4 Sneaky Things That Can Spike Your Blood Sugar (Not Food!)

When you think of blood sugar (aka glucose) levels, does your mind jump straight to how much sugar you eat? If so, that’s completely fair. Your carb intake does play a significant role in your blood sugar levels. Carbs (no matter if it’s fruit, grains, or candy) are eventually broken down and metabolized into glucose. Eating a lot of carbs, especially foods with added sugar and no fiber, floods the bloodstream with glucose and can cause a dramatic increase in blood sugar. 

But it’s not the only thing that impacts your glucose levels. Other habits that have nothing to do with who or how much you eat also influence how your body regulates its sugar. 

So if you’ve recently had bloodwork done or are using a continuous glucose monitor and notice higher than desirable glucose levels, or if you’ve been feeling a bit haywire energy-wise, it may be because of one (or more) of these four sneaky culprits.

Being stressed releases a cascade of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. In the right stressful situations (say you’re being chased by a bear), the release of these hormones increases your alertness and energy production—meaning your blood sugar will spike. But in these short-term situations, that energy spike is actually desirable. 

You need to be alert and energized to deal with whatever the situation at hand is. And once that stressor is removed, levels of these hormones go back to their resting state and everything is balanced again. 

The problem arises when stress doesn’t go away. Stress from work, financial concerns, relationships, parenting, and daily inconveniences, also trigger these hormones. Chronically high cortisol levels can also chronically raise blood sugar levels. 

What can you do about this? Eliminating stress isn’t necessarily the goal here, but rather try to incorporate science-backed ways that can help manage the stress in your life. This could be through the use of meditation, yoga, aromatherapy, or adaptogens like ashwagandha. 

Sleep impacts blood sugar in several ways. Not sleeping enough can also spur a rise in cortisol levels during the day (increasing glucose) and make the body less efficient at lowering high levels of blood sugar. 

Not getting enough shut-eye can also throw your hunger hormones out of whack and you may notice feeling ravenous during the day and less satiated after eating.

What can you do about this? The sweet spot of optimal sleep for most people falls between seven and nine hours a night. Practice good sleep hygiene by avoiding screens an hour or more before bed and cool the temperature in your room. You can also try a sleep supplement to help you relax and feel drowsy (here are our favorites).

3.

Not getting enough exercise 

Not moving your body regularly has also been linked to impaired blood sugar control. Muscles require energy to move during exercise, and they will pull glucose from the blood for fuel if they can. 

Researchers of a 2022 systematic review found that walking (or even standing) for two to five minutes in an hour or two after eating was enough to have a significant impact on blood glucose levels. More intense exercise would have an even greater effect. 

What can you do about this? Don’t stay sedentary for long periods—especially right after you eat. Break up your day with short walks around the house or neighborhood, and make sure to incorporate longer bouts of both cardio and strength training to your weekly routine. 

4.

Eating later in the day

It’s not always what you eat that impacts your blood sugar, but when. 

The body tends to be more metabolically active in the morning—meaning it’s more primed to efficiently break down food, clear glucose from the blood, and then utilize it. 

Eating late at night right before bed is associated with a more exaggerated and prolonged blood glucose response than even eating the same meal just four hours earlier in the evening. 

Your blood sugar levels are a reflection of many different factors. Elevated blood sugar levels can be due to eating large amounts of processed carbs (with no fiber), but also high levels of stress, poor sleep, inactivity, and erratic eating schedules. 

If you feel like you’re doing everything right and you don’t feel like your blood sugar is where you want it to be, consider adding targeted supplementation in addition to the lifestyle changes mentioned here. mindbodygreen’s metabolism+ is uniquely formulated to touch on almost all aspects of metabolism including appetite regulation, blood sugar balance, cravings, and calorie, and fat burn.*