Exercise Can Leave You Low In The Morning

If you wake up with low blood glucose even though your diet is the same as always, the culprit could be yesterday's workout. Delayed-onset low blood glucose can happen when a day of skiing or 18 holes of golf lowers your levels that night or even the next day. Whenever you exercise strenuously, prevent problems by checking your blood glucose more frequently. During the next 24 hours, eat extra carbohydrates or adjust your insulin dose as needed.

Delayed-onset low blood glucose is also caused when intermediate- or long-acting insulin is absorbed faster because of exercise. For example, injecting into your leg and then exercising can cause the insulin to be absorbed more quickly than usual. You can control this to some extent by injecting insulin into the abdominal area, because it is absorbed more evenly there.

Whatever is causing the problem, the solution is not to stop exercising. Activity is good for your diabetes, your heart, your nerves and many other aspects of your health. Work with your diabetes care team to find the best solution to your low readings, and keep sweating!