Gestational Diabetes: How Sleep, Exercise & Stress Affect Blood Sugar

If you've read Part 1: Just Diagnosed With Gestational Diabetes? Start Here and Part 2: What to Eat With Gestational Diabetes, you'll know that managing blood glucose is important but it’s most certainly not the only goal.

And here's another vital component to gestational diabetes: Food isn't the only thing that affects your blood glucose.

This can be an incredibly frustrating reality. You might eat exactly the same meal two days in a row and get completely different readings. But rather than blaming yourself, it can actually be useful to understand that blood glucose is impacted by lots of different factors. It also gives you an important reason to be kind to yourself when your numbers don't always behave the way you expect.

Sleep

A poor night's sleep can affect blood glucose and may contribute to higher fasting readings the following morning.

Of course, getting good sleep during pregnancy isn't always entirely within your control (especially if this isn’t your first bub!).

Where possible, prioritise rest and the usual sleep-supportive habits: a dark and comfortable room, winding down before bed and giving yourself some time away from screens. If you've had a terrible night and your fasting glucose is higher than usual, don't immediately start blaming your food as a consequence.

Movement

Movement is another useful tool for managing blood glucose.

When our muscles are working, they can take up glucose from the bloodstream, helping to lower blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity. This is one reason gentle movement after meals can be useful for some people with gestational diabetes. But remember movement is a tool, not a punishment.

You don't need to exercise to “make up for” what you've eaten or to compensate for a high blood glucose reading. Your pregnancy, fitness, symptoms and individual circumstances all matter, so follow the exercise advice provided by your pregnancy care team.

Meal timing

When you eat can also influence your blood glucose.

Our bodies tend to handle glucose differently throughout the day, and some people find that their blood glucose is more difficult to manage after breakfast or later in the evening.

Rather than another strict rule to follow, I'd encourage you to look at your own patterns (because we’re all different). Your diabetes team can help you understand your readings and whether changes to meal timing might be useful for you.

Stress

Unfortunately, stress can also affect blood glucose. And managing gestational diabetes can be stressful enough on its own!

Stress hormones can increase blood glucose, which is another reason you might occasionally see a reading that doesn't seem to match what you've eaten.

It can be really difficult to manage stress so think about small things that help you feel like yourself such as going for a walk, seeing friends, reading, getting outside, listening to music, drawing, having a bath or simply taking some time to breathe.

There are over 40 factors that influence blood glucose levels

Food, sleep, movement and stress are just some of the things that can influence blood glucose.

Hormones, illness, the progression of pregnancy, timing, hydration and individual differences can all play a role too.

One blood glucose reading doesn't tell the whole story. Look for patterns rather than judging yourself based on a single number.

If your readings are consistently outside your target range, talk to your diabetes team. This is exactly what they're there for.

You don't have to figure this out alone

Feeling overwhelmed? You're not expected to navigate gestational diabetes by yourself.

Your care team can help you understand your blood glucose readings and work out what support you need. This might include your GP, obstetrician, midwife, diabetes educator, endocrinologist and/or dietitian.

If you've found yourself becoming increasingly anxious around food, restricting what you eat, skipping meals, avoiding social situations or feeling like you have to exercise to “fix” your blood glucose, please ask for help.

As we talked about in Part 1, managing blood glucose is only one of our goals. Meeting your nutritional needs, enjoying food and protecting your relationship with eating matter too.

If you haven't read the other parts of this series yet:

Part 1: Just Diagnosed With Gestational Diabetes? Start Here
Understanding what GDM is, why it happens and why there’s nothing wrong with needing medication!

Part 2: What to Eat With Gestational Diabetes
A practical guide to carbohydrates, meal balance, snacks and eating well without unneeded restriction.

If you would like personalised support, our dietitians at TWC can help you navigate gestational diabetes in a way that considers your blood glucose, your nutritional needs and your wellbeing — not just the numbers.