Everyone experiences stress, whether it’s a deadline at work, juggling kids’ schedules, or even a hard workout. While it may feel like something that just impacts your emotions, it significantly affects your body, too. Your blood sugar regulation is one of the systems most impacted.
Stress hormones can cause spikes in blood sugar levels and impact how our body uses glucose. Over time this can put us at risk for developing conditions like insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic conditions.
The good news is that by understanding how stress affects your blood sugar, and strategies to manage it, you can support both your mental and physical health.
How does stress affect blood sugar?
When we encounter stress, your body activates the fight-or-flight response. Historically, this mechanism was designed to give you quick energy and focus to escape from dangerous situations, like running from a predator. It raises your heart rate, increases breathing, and boosts blood flow to muscles.
While usually thought of as negative, stress isn’t always bad. It can help you perform better or keep you awake and alert in certain situations. The challenge comes when stress is frequent or long-lasting.
There are three primary types of stress:
- Acute stress: Short-term stress that comes and goes quickly. It can be positive (a workout, public speaking) or negative (an argument, work deadline).
- Episodic acute stress: Frequent bouts of acute stress without enough recovery time. Common in high-pressure jobs like healthcare or emergency response.
- Chronic stress: Ongoing stress lasting weeks or months, often related to financial concerns, relationship struggles, or workplace challenges. Chronic stress is the most harmful, as it continuously disrupts hormone and glucose balance and can lead to health issues if left unchecked.
Both physical and psychological stress trigger the release of stress hormones, which cause the liver to release glucose so the brain and muscles have fast fuel. While helpful in short bursts, chronic stress keeps this signal switched on, disrupting blood sugar balance over time.
How Stress Hormones Affect Blood Sugar and Insulin Resistance
At the center of the stress-blood sugar connection is hormones.
Cortisol – the primary stress hormone
Released by the adrenal glands, cortisol prompts the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream, providing longer-term energy. When cortisol levels remain high due to chronic stress (or conditions such as depression), insulin’s ability to move glucose into cells is reduced; a condition called insulin resistance. This leaves excess glucose in the bloodstream and raises the risk of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases.
Adrenaline – the fight-or-flight trigger
Adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) drives the fight-or-flight response, the rapid “adrenaline rush” feeling. It quickly increases blood sugar to provide immediate energy, often accompanied by symptoms like a racing heart, faster breathing, sweating, and heightened alertness. While short-lived, adrenaline can also lead to a rebound drop in blood sugar, which often triggers cravings for sugary foods.
Glucagon – the backup energy signal
Unlike cortisol and adrenaline, glucagon balances blood sugar by increases glucose levels when blood sugar is low. It works in contrast to insulin by raising blood sugar when levels get too low. During stress, glucagon levels rise further, signaling the liver to release more glucose. Instead of restoring balance, this amplifies the effects of cortisol and adrenaline, driving blood sugar even higher. Repeated exposure to this cycle contributes to insulin resistance and glucose imbalance.
Chronic Stress and Blood Sugar: The Link to Metabolic Syndrome
When stress becomes chronic, it impacts our blood sugar beyond short-term energy dips and spikes. Over time, the constant cycle of stress hormones, insulin and glucose can put us at higher risk for developing metabolic syndrome. This is cluster of conditions that often occur together, including:
- High blood sugar
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Low levels of HDL (the “good”) cholesterol
- Excess fat around your stomach
- High levels of triglyceride fats (Hypertriglyceridemia)
Having three or more of these significantly raises your chance for type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Chronic stress can contribute to metabolic risk in several ways:
- Continuous cortisol release keeps blood sugar elevated and pushes the pancreas to make more insulin, leading to insulin resistance.
- Stress promotes fat storage around the abdomen, which is metabolically active and increases inflammation.
- Stress hormones affect blood pressure and fat metabolism, worsening two additional markers of metabolic syndrome.
- Stress-related habits — poor sleep, overeating, alcohol use, or inactivity — compound these biological effects.
Lifestyle habits like poor sleep, overeating, excess alcohol use, and reduced exercise can add to these biological effects. Metabolic syndrome is both common and preventable, and managing stress is a crucial and often overlooked strategy for helping to maintain balanced blood sugar.
Natural ways to lower blood sugar from stress
Unfortunately, stress is a part of life. But by learning how to cope with stressful situations, you can shift how your body responds. Research suggests that daily stress management techniques support both cortisol regulation and blood sugar balance.
Effective practices include:
- Deep breathing & meditation: Just a few minutes a day can lower cortisol and trigger the body’s relaxation response.
- Moderate physical activity: Activities like walking, cycling, or yoga reduce stress hormones and improve insulin sensitivity. Avoid extreme overtraining, which can raise cortisol.
- Prioritize sleep: Poor sleep increases cortisol and disrupts glucose metabolism. Aim for 7–9 hours of quality rest in a cool, dark room.
- Mindfulness & gratitude practices: Journaling, prayer, or reflecting on positives can improve mood and reduce psychological stress.
- Balanced meals: Eating protein, fiber, and healthy fats stabilizes blood sugar and prevents the highs and lows that amplify stress.
Even small steps, like stepping outside for a walk around the block, pausing for 5 deep breaths, or choosing a balanced meal can help keep stress and blood sugar steady.
Takeaways
Stress doesn’t just affect your mood, it can directly impact your body through blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, and long-term metabolic health. Chronic stress can shift the body toward insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. Learning how to manage stress is just as important as healthy eating and regular movement for blood sugar balance. By starting with one stress-reducing practice today, you’ll be on the way to reducing stress, and improving your energy, focus, and overall wellbeing.