Learning to manage stress in your life can help you better control your blood glucose levels. That's what a new study from Duke University Medical Center found among people with type 2 diabetes.

Stress can increase glucose levels in people with diabetes. It does this by increasing the release of hormones that lead to energy mobilization -- the "fight or flight" response. This response includes the transport of glucose into the bloodstream, resulting in high glucose levels.

In this NIH study, 108 adults with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in educational sessions with or without stress management training. The stress management techniques included learning how to identify everyday stressors and how to respond to them with techniques such as breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation.

After a year, 32 percent of those who had received the stress management training had HbA1c levels that were lower by one percent or more than before their training. Only 12 percent of the people who did not receive stress management instruction had reduced their blood glucose levels to that degree.

Related information: Lifestyle changes - Manage stress | Diabetes and stress

Sources:

• Surwit R, et al. Diabetes Care, January 2002.
• HealthNewsDigest.com. Stress management can help control glucose, Jan. 3, 2002.