Lifestyle factors, including healthy eating and healthy sleep habits, are the building blocks for managing diabetes. Taking steps toward a healthier lifestyle will help you:
- Prevent diabetes if you don’t have it
- Manage blood glucose (blood sugar)
- Reduce the risk of diabetes complications
- Improve your quality of life
Whether you’re trying to prevent diabetes or have been living with it for a while, your lifestyle has a big impact on your health.
An eating plan that has foods that are packed with nutrients, as well as your sleep habits, are two key lifestyle factors to pay attention to. Let’s learn more about how they have an impact on blood glucose management and help you to stay well.
Healthy Eating Plans
Following a well-balanced eating plan can help you manage your blood glucose. Choosing different types of non-starchy vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, starchy vegetables, beans, fruit, whole grains, and low-fat dairy is important.
Including those types of foods in your eating plan can improve:
- Blood glucose
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Heart, gut, and brain health
Eating high-fiber foods (vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, and whole grains) helps manage blood glucose. When eating food with fiber, your body breaks down the food you ate at a slower rate, and that reduces the rate that your blood glucose rises. Foods that are high in fiber are filling and can help with weight loss. Fiber also helps with the health of your gut, acting as prebiotics that feed healthy gut bacteria. The health of your gut and healthy gut bacteria will help you manage blood glucose and improve your brain and heart health.
When you add foods that are high in fiber to your eating plan, you tend to eat fewer foods that are high in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium. This makes it easier to eat for better health.
Reach out to a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) who specializes in diabetes for nutrition support, and together you can create an eating plan that meets your needs and helps you reach your goals. They will include your food preferences, lifestyle, and culture—making sure you can still enjoy eating while you manage your blood glucose.
Fiber Targets
Most people should aim for 14 grams of fiber for each 1,000 calories they eat each day. So if you eat 2,000 calories each day, aim for 28 grams of fiber.
Adding More Fiber
If you’re starting to add more fiber to your meals and snacks, add it slowly and drink plenty of water or other low-calorie drinks. Slowly increasing fiber and staying hydrated will help prevent discomfort, gas, and bloating.
Sleep and Blood Glucose
Lack of sleep or poor sleep quality can increase your risk of developing prediabetes, diabetes, overweight, and obesity—and make it harder to manage blood glucose levels. It can also make it harder to lose weight and fight off infections.
High blood glucose levels can reduce the quality of your sleep, increasing thirst and trips to the bathroom. People with diabetes are at increased risk of conditions that affect sleep, including insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and sleep apnea. Less sleep can also cause you to feel drowsy during the day and keep you from tasks for managing blood glucose and your overall health.
Improving Your Sleep
Aim to sleep seven to nine hours per night. Start by checking how much you are sleeping and then work towards your goal. For example, you can start by going to bed 10–15 minutes earlier for a week and add a few minutes each week until you reach your goal. Try to go to sleep and wake up at about the same time every day so you can help your body get used to a good sleep schedule.
A cool, dark room is helpful when you sleep. Avoid screens, caffeine, large meals, and alcohol before you go to bed. What you wear to bed can have an impact, too. Tight, restrictive clothing may cause you to wake up in the night. Lose fitting clothing that is breathable and cool can keep you comfortable.
The Bottom Line
Lifestyle factors like eating patterns and sleep habits are key to your health, including managing blood glucose. To help you stay motivated, set small, realistic, and time-based goals each week. If you need support, motivation, education, or training, reach out to your health care team.
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