*Disclaimer: All content and information in this blog is for informational and educational purposes only.
For many people with type 1 diabetes, the mornings often set the tone for how blood sugars may behave the rest of the day. When considering steps to take towards lowering your A1C or increasing your time in range, the early morning hours of your day can make a significant difference in what’s to come in the later hours. By honing in on just the morning time, it may lead to a compound effect that supports your blood sugars throughout the day. This blog post is going to explore different blood sugar management strategies to consider implementing during your morning routine.
Measure Your Basal Body Temperature
Hormones play a huge role in how well your body will respond to insulin. If you are able to understand your hormonal baseline when starting your day, you can have a good indication of what your level of insulin sensitivity may be throughout the day. For those who menstruate, there is a way to figure out your hormonal baseline by measuring your basal body temperature or your body temperature first thing in the morning. Based on those results, you can look ahead and know how your body may respond to insulin throughout the day and be proactive in your insulin adjustments based on what phase of your menstrual cycle you are in. For more information about basal body temperature and menstrual cycles, check out these previous blog posts:
- Naturally Lower Your A1C: 3 Holistic Measures to Start Today
- Menstrual Cycles and Type 1 Diabetes: What You Need to Know to Keep Up with Your Flow
Find Your Bolus Anchor
During the morning rush, you may find yourself going through the motions of your routine without diabetes even crossing your mind. When you are finally ready to sit down for breakfast, you realize that taking your insulin completely slipped your mind and you no longer have 15 minutes to spare before you have to get out the door. Instead of dealing with a pesky high blood sugar every morning, you can implement the use of a bolus anchor to help automate your morning management. A bolus anchor is when you combine an everyday task, like brushing your teeth, walking the dog, or making coffee alongside a new habit, which in this case is taking your breakfast bolus. Bolus anchoring can help reduce the morning spike because you are building your breakfast prebolus into your routine without having to think about it.
Prioritize Hydration
Your body naturally loses fluids throughout the night when you are asleep. This can lead to mild dehydration during the morning hours. Dehydration can lead to higher blood sugar levels which is why prioritizing hydration first thing in the morning can be beneficial. Consider keeping a cup of water at your bedside table or having a glass before your coffee to assist with your A.M hydration status and blood sugars.
Utilize Food Pairing
Last but not least, you've heard me say this before and when I'm repetitive about something, it just really goes to show how important it is and how much of an impact that can make on your blood sugars, your day, your energy, everything. And this is a PFF breakfast. If you're new here, PFF stands for protein, fat and fiber which is a simple way of balancing your plate. You can find examples of PFF-friendly breakfast ideas and more here that can support your morning blood sugar levels.
Morning habits and routines can set the tone for blood sugar management throughout the day. Whether you choose to implement all of these options or just a few, it is possible to start your day off with a structured routine that prioritizes your blood sugar management.
Interested in hearing more about how a T1D sets up their morning routine? Lissie will walk you through her morning on Keeping it 100 Radio: Uncensored Diabetes Conversations- Episode 76:
