Food Isn't The Only Cause Of High Blood Sugar — Watch Out For These 4 Other Culprits

When you think of blood sugar (aka glucose) levels, does your mind jump straight to how much sugar you eat? If so, that's completely fair. Your carb intake does play a significant role in your blood sugar levels. Carbs (no matter if it's fruit, grains, or candy) are eventually broken down and metabolized into glucose. Eating a lot of carbs, especially foods with added sugar and no fiber, floods the bloodstream with glucose and can cause a dramatic increase in blood sugar. 

But it's not the only thing that impacts your glucose levels. Other habits that have nothing to do with who or how much you eat also influence how your body regulates its sugar. 

Being stressed releases a cascade of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol1. In the right stressful situations (say you're being chased by a bear), the release of these hormones increases your alertness and energy production—meaning your blood sugar will spike. But in these short-term situations, that energy spike is actually desirable. 

You need to be alert and energized to deal with whatever the situation at hand is. And once that stressor is removed, levels of these hormones go back to their resting state and everything is balanced again. 

The problem arises when stress doesn't go away. Stress from work, financial concerns, relationships, parenting, and daily inconveniences also trigger these hormones. Chronically high cortisol levels can also chronically raise blood sugar levels. 

Sleep impacts blood sugar in several ways. Not sleeping enough2 can also spur a rise in cortisol levels during the day (increasing glucose) and make the body less efficient at lowering high levels of blood sugar. 

Not getting enough shut-eye can also throw your hunger hormones out of whack, and you may notice feeling ravenous during the day and less satiated3 after eating.

Not moving your body regularly has also been linked to impaired blood sugar control. Muscles require energy to move during exercise, and they will pull glucose from the blood for fuel if they can. 

Researchers of a 2022 systematic review found that walking (or even standing) for two to five minutes4 in an hour or two after eating was enough to have a significant impact on blood glucose levels. More intense exercise would have an even greater effect. 

It's not always what you eat that impacts your blood sugar but when. 

The body tends to be more metabolically active in the morning5—meaning it's more primed to efficiently break down food, clear glucose from the blood, and then utilize it. 

Your blood sugar levels are a reflection of many different factors. Elevated blood sugar levels can be due to eating large amounts of processed carbs (with no fiber) but also high levels of stress, poor sleep, inactivity, and erratic eating schedules.