Markethealthbeauty.com– Living with diabetes will make it difficult for a person to control blood sugar levels. In some cases, blood sugar levels often soar in the morning. The increase in blood sugar levels that often occur in the morning is known as the ‘dawn phenomenon’. This condition is common in people with diabetes, especially type-2 diabetes.
What is dawn phenomenon?
The dawn phenomenon is the term for the increase in fasting blood sugar in the early hours or early morning. Generally, this condition occurs between 02:00 and 08:00 in the morning.
Under normal conditions, in the morning, the body will release glucose stored in the liver to form the necessary energy. However, people with diabetes cannot take advantage of the blood sugar.
What is normal blood sugar?
In general, normal blood sugar levels are between 70-130 mg/dl. If you have blood sugar levels that are above that number in the morning consistently, then you experience the down phenomenon.
Dawn Phenomenon Cause
Everyone, including those who do not have diabetes, must experience a rise in blood sugar in the early hours and early morning. There is an increase in growth hormone secretion in the early hours of the morning. The hormone is very influential on the increase in blood sugar in the morning, at least in people with type 1 diabetes.
Does dawn affect blood sugar?
The dawn phenomenon, not only plays a role in the increase in fasting blood sugar levels, but also the increase in blood sugar levels after breakfast. In fact, growth hormone and other hormones such as cortisol are hormones that work in the morning as the body prepares to start activity.
Can you have a natural morning without diabetes?
In people without diabetes, the body is able to produce enough insulin, so the natural phenomenon in the morning has no impact whatsoever. However, in diabetics, insulin is not enough so a slight increase in blood sugar can cause problems.
Other factors that affect the increase in blood sugar in the morning will be explained as follows.
#1. Know what food intake has entered your body.
What you ate the night before may be behind the blood sugar spike.
For example, if you eat more than your usual portion or if the amount of food is more than the amount of medication you should be taking can be the cause of higher blood sugar in the morning.
#2. Medication.
Maybe the medication you’re taking doesn’t last all night, or the dosage isn’t high enough to control your blood sugar
#3. Naturally
Another possibility is that it occurs naturally in the body in response to low blood sugar.
When your blood sugar drops, your body releases stored sugar mainly from the liver and compensates excessively.
Dawn Phenomenon Treatment
Soaring blood sugar in the morning can be a sign that diabetics should look again at diabetes treatment and physical activity that has been done.
Because these three factors are diet, physical activity, and treatment is very determining daily blood sugar levels.
The good news is, this dawn phenomenon can be minimized in the following ways:
- Taking medication or insulin at bedtime, not at dinner time
- Early dinner in the evening
- Exercise after dinner.
- Avoid foods containing carbohydrates before bedtime.
Why is it important to manage glucose spikes?
Managing glucose spikes is very important for diabetics because a slight increase in blood sugar can be at risk of serious complications.
Consultation with a doctor
If the above things have been done, but fasting blood sugar in the morning is still high, it is best to consult a doctor to change or make a dose adjustment of the drug.
It is possible that with 1-2 oral drugs are no longer able to lower blood sugar so insulin is needed. Insulin is a drug that can lower blood sugar most quickly.
But using insulin requires special understanding and skills so that only a doctor or diabetes educator can provide this education.
