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Glucose monitor
Good morning Bernadette & Daniel
Last week I treated myself with the UltraHuman glucose monitor.
Before the perfectionist in me goes nuts, here are some questions for you:
1. what causes levels to drop during the nights (sleep) below 70? And second: is it normal to do so or do we want levels to be above 70? That being sad, I have dinner no later than 6.30 and go for a walk afterwards, it is also a very light dinner. Maybe that’s why?
2. What causes levels to drop below 70 in the morning during or after physical activity? Is the body not fueled enough?It’s amazing to visibly see actual results to the choices you do during a day! I am very happy I got the monitor just to push me more to make better decisions!
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6 Replies
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Hey ,
You are thinking in the right direction! Having an early and light dinner can contribute to low blood sugar at night. Workouts in the evening/late afternoon can also cause lower blood sugars at night.
The good thing is that with your glucose monitor, you can finetune when you should eat to see if you can bring up your blood sugars above 70 during the night.
Another thing you could do is consume a snack containing carbs before you go to bed, together with a little fat to slow down the absorption of the carbs. A baked apple for example.
When blood sugar drops below 70 mg/dl during the night it is called nocturnal hypoglycemia. This can cause symptoms like:
• Nightmares or sleep disturbances
• You could experience a headache, confusion, or irritability upon waking
• It could cause you to feel tired the following day
• You could experience signs of sweating like damp bedsheets and clothes.Do you experience any of these?
Having low blood sugar at night can also be caused by other stuff. For example, low levels of cortisol can contribute to lower blood sugars. If you use cortisol lowering supplements before bedtime, you could experiment with smaller dosages or even leave them away.Insulin resistance can also cause low blood sugars at night. The higher insulin levels together with the low dietary carbohydrates in the evening could potentially cause low blood sugars during the night.
Menstruation can also influence blood sugars… Hot and humid weather as well!! It causes the blood vessels to dilate, which can enhance insulin levels. Even drinking alcohol can affect blood sugars and lower them at night.
But the causes you mentioned would be my primary suspects as well.
Let us know what worked for you!
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Here are my thoughts / updates:
My workouts are at 8am, I leave the house at 7 for school drop off, and I have usually my collagen powder and date with nuts or fruit with nuts. My glucose levels are good during the 1 hr strength training. Some days it dropped below 70 during cardio after the training ( incline walking).
This week I will have a protein shake before training, which I am sure will do the trick.
As for the glucose drop during sleep: during the weekend I had later dinners and also carb richer and levels did NOT drop below 70!
In general I sleep through the night and do not experience any of the symptoms you mentioned, but will for sure test this coming week more with my diet to find a way to keep levels in optimal range!
Last week I was in my last week of luteal phase. And now I am on my follicular phase. I on purpose chose these 2 weeks to see also if any major difference.
So far my biggest takeaways : protein is the most important key factor in keeping the levels from spikes! Walks after meals drop levels by almost 50%, I love love love the fact that you guys teach us the best -
Ps: I do not drink alcohol but my husband does. This morning I put on the monitor for him, Iet’s see the outcome.
Last week I did the cortisol saliva test, results will be in in few weeks. -
I’m glad you’re gaining valuable insights about your unique body. Also keep in mind that women become slightly more insulin resistant during the luteal phase and less so during menstruation and the follicular phase.
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what is then the best approach to keep levels optimal during luteal phase? And why then is it that we need more carbs during this period?
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I think because we become slightly more insulin resistant, that our desire for carbs increases during this period. Right? Think about it… if we can’t shuttle sugar into cells as effectively, our cells starve/crave more sugar/carbs.
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