Making Mornings Count: My Routine for Managing My Blood Sugar

I’ve added a few simple steps to my daily routine to help prevent my blood sugar from rising first thing in the morning. 

Those of us with type 2 diabetes, including myself, can be highly sensitive to something called the “dawn phenomenon,” which is a rise in the morning (often called “fasting”) blood glucose.

Everyone experiences a morning burst of cortisol because it helps wake us up. But when cortisol rises, so does blood glucose. After all, glucose is the energy our cells need to face the day. But, when you have type 2 diabetes, you don’t make enough insulin to get all that glucose into your cells.

Since I wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), I know my glucose can spike by as much as 100 points between sleep and waking. To manage this, I’ve developed a morning routine that helps curb this effect for me.

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I leave enough time to get ready

Cortisol, or the “stress hormone,” is what our bodies release when we’re stressed. Feeling rushed in the morning is an added source of stress for me.

So, as much as I love hitting the snooze button on my alarm, I plan plenty of time to get ready in the morning to prevent my cortisol from spiking any higher than usual.

I practice breathwork and meditation

Finding ways to lessen the cortisol released on waking is helpful. This is where stress-relieving activities like breathing exercises and meditation come in.

I do 3 to 5 minutes of mindfulness meditation every morning, which can be as simple as focusing on some deep breathing.

Keeping it to just a few minutes helps make it sustainable for me. It also allows my morning meditations to take less time away from the other things I need to do in the morning.

If you prefer guidance, plenty of apps like Othership or Calm can walk you through quick breathing exercises or meditations. There’s also a wealth of free videos on YouTube.

I write in my journal

Journaling is another activity that helps relieve stress for me. I usually just “brain dump” everything on my mind onto the pages of my journal, which helps stop any anxiety I might have about the coming day.

I might also write about any plans or priorities for the day. This has a similar anxiety-relieving function for me. Once it’s on paper, I no longer need to worry about remembering everything I need to get done.

As with my morning meditation, I limit my journaling time to 10 to 15 minutes. This helps keep it sustainable for me.

If you’d like to try journaling but aren’t sure what to write about, search online for “morning journal prompts.” Then, pick your few favorites to help you start your day with intention.

I eat within an hour of waking

After experimenting with fasting in a misguided attempt to “cure” my type 2 diabetes, I discovered that fasting doesn’t work for me at all. It generally has the opposite effect.

If I go for long periods without eating, my glucose spikes. It seems counterintuitive since fasting means I’m not eating at all, and thus, one would assume my blood sugar should drop rather than rise.

However, with type 2 diabetes, you can experience fasting hyperglycemia when your body releases glucose in response to not eating for several hours, and you don’t make enough insulin to counteract it.

This happens to me, and even intermittent fasting has this effect. I’ve had blood glucose readings as high as in the 300s from skipping breakfast. So, I try to always eat within 30 minutes to an hour of waking, which keeps my blood glucose in range.

I choose balanced breakfast choices

Aside from fasting, what I eat can also have a direct effect. For example, I’ve experimented with low-carb breakfast. But my body responds to these meal choices the same way it would if I were fasting. I release too much glucose and don’t make enough insulin to counteract it.

At the other end of the spectrum, high-carb breakfasts don’t work well either. A bowl of cereal can also cause a spike.

It took some experimenting, but I finally found a good balance of protein, fat, and carbs that works for me.

When it comes to carb choices, I’ve found my body responds best to oats. My body loves steel-cut oats, in particular. But I also have go-to baked oatmeal and muffin recipes that work well with oat flour, which is just oats ground into a powder.

I avoid morning exercise

What I’m about to say might be a bit controversial, but I don’t exercise in the morning. So this is one thing you won’t see in my morning routine.

I used to exercise in the morning because it was a good way to ensure I got it done. However, it didn’t impact my blood glucose much, likely because exercise can increase cortisol.

Plus, morning exercise means I have to get up earlier to fit it in before work, and one thing I am not is a morning person. So, I prefer the extra hour of sleep, which has its own positive effect on blood glucose.

Instead of exercising in the morning, I fit it in during the afternoon or early evening, usually right after work. Do what works best for you, of course. However, research published in 2023 found that afternoon exercise can benefit those of us with type 2 diabetes.

Plus, it creates a nice dividing line, allowing me to mentally leave the work day behind and transition into home life.

The takeaway

What activities help mitigate the morning rise in cortisol and corresponding glucose spike are different for everyone. Finding what works for you might take some trial and error.

So, experiment with different stress-relieving activities and breakfast choices and see how your blood glucose responds.