5 Ways Stress Impacts Your Body

Recently, we've felt the stress nationwide. Stress affects us all, but it poses a greater threat to those with diabetes. Stress worsens diabetes - it raises blood sugar levels, activates fat cells, impairs glucose tolerance, increases insulin resistance, and affects blood pressure. In fact, diabetes causes stress, and stress exacerbates diabetes. As we approach Diabetes Month, how does stress influence sugar levels, and how should we handle stressful situations?

1. Stress Raises Blood Sugar Levels

Why does extra stress cause blood sugar to rise even if we haven't eaten? There are several factors, but the main reason is that stress triggers the release of cortisol, a hormone that helps the body cope in challenging situations (fight or flight). When cortisol is released into the bloodstream, it accelerates your heart and breathing rates. As a result, glucose and protein stores from the liver are released into the blood to make energy immediately available to your muscles. In other words, your body releases sugar into the bloodstream so energy can be readily available. The outcome: high blood sugar levels.

2. Stress Activates Our Fat Cells

This isn't the end of the cortisol story. Cortisol also stimulates an enzyme in our fat cells that helps transfer fat from storage deposits around the body to deep abdominal fat stores. Stress can actually lead many people to accumulate more belly fat. The more stress there is, the more cortisol is present in your body, leading to more belly fat. Studies have already demonstrated that these central fat cells are associated not only with a higher risk of heart disease but also an increased risk of diabetes. If a person has diabetes, the condition may worsen due to the overall stress and cortisol levels in the body. Additionally, cortisol increases food cravings, making dietary management even more challenging.

3. Stress Contributes to Insulin Resistance

Cortisol also makes it harder for the pancreas to secrete insulin, which is necessary for moving sugar from the bloodstream into the cells for energy and stabilizing blood sugar levels. Over time, the pancreas struggles to keep up with the high demand for insulin, blood sugar levels remain high, cells cannot get the sugar they need, and the cycle continues. All these contribute to insulin resistance - a condition that can worsen your situation.

4. Stress Affects Sleep, Which Impairs Glucose Tolerance

Often, stress makes us tense and anxious, which can cause sleep problems. Numerous studies have shown the negative health impacts of sleep deprivation. Research has found that less than six hours of sleep at night impairs glucose tolerance, a condition that often precedes or can exacerbate the progression of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, tired individuals tend to eat more because they want to obtain the energy they lack, typically by consuming sugar or other foods that can significantly raise blood sugar levels.

5. Stress Affects Your Blood Pressure

One of the additional roles of the hormone cortisol is to constrict arteries throughout the body to allow stronger and faster pumping through the body's other parts. Persistent stress over time keeps the blood vessels contracted, causing blood pressure to be high. Over time, high blood pressure can worsen many diabetes complications, including eye and kidney diseases. In fact, many people with diabetes eventually develop high blood pressure, making it important to monitor the levels.

How to Handle Stressful Situations?

• Adopt a Positive Approach - When things appear to go wrong, it's always easier to see the bad instead of the good. It's recommended to find the silver lining in every crucial area of life: work, family, friends, and health. Positive thinking can help you get through tough times.
• Accept What Cannot Be Changed - For stressful situations or issues that cannot be changed, there is a simple action plan: ask the questions:

• Will this matter in two years?
• Do I have control over this situation?
• Can I change my circumstance?

• Share - Don't keep everything bottled up. Talk to a family member or close friend or, alternatively, reach out to counselors, psychologists, and other professionals trained to provide support and insight.
• Exercise - Physical activity gives a sense of well-being and may relieve stress symptoms.
• Practice Relaxation Skills - Practicing muscle relaxation, deep breathing, meditation, or visualization can help reduce stress.

Prof. Julio Weinstein is the head of the diabetes unit at Wolfson Hospital and at the DMC Center