Why Morning Blood Sugar Readings Can Creep Up With Age
You skipped the late snack and still woke up to a higher number. Here is what may be happening overnight.
It is one of the most frustrating experiences for people who check their blood sugar at home: you eat a sensible dinner, skip dessert, go to bed, and still wake up to a number higher than the night before.
It can feel like the meter is wrong. Often, it is your body's normal morning routine at work.
The body's early-morning wake-up call
In the hours before you wake up, your body releases hormones such as cortisol and growth hormone. Among other jobs, they signal the liver to release stored glucose so you have energy to start the day.
In most people, insulin handles that extra glucose without much change. But when the body becomes less responsive to insulin, which becomes more common with age, that early-morning rise can show up on the meter. Doctors often call this the "dawn phenomenon."
Other things that can push morning numbers up
- Poor or short sleep. A restless night can affect how the body handles glucose the next morning.
- Late or large evening meals. A big dinner close to bedtime may still be affecting your numbers hours later.
- Stress. Stress hormones also raise blood sugar.
- Medication timing. If you take medication, when you take it can matter. This is a question for your doctor, not something to change on your own.
What you can do
The most useful step is also the simplest: keep a log. Write down your morning reading, what time you ate dinner, what you ate, and how you slept. After two or three weeks, patterns tend to appear, and that log gives your doctor far more to work with than a single number.
Many people also find that a consistent dinner time, a short walk after the evening meal and a regular sleep schedule make their mornings more predictable.