Managing Glucose and Stress in Women with Type 2 Diabetes:

The Power of Aerobic Exercise and Deep Breathing

Diabetes is a type of metabolic disease. It has a strong connection with stress. In fact, stress is considered a significant factor in diabetes mellitus and has a negative impact on blood glucose levels, particularly in women.

Connection between Stress and Diabetes

When a person is stressed, it affects certain parts of the body, like the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal gland (HPA) and the sympathetic nerve axis. Stress also causes the withdrawal of the parasympathetic nerve, which leads to higher levels of circulating cortisol in the body. This leads to higher levels of blood glucose and lipids in the blood.

Benefits of Aerobic Exercise in Diabetes

Aerobic exercise is an important component of a diabetes management plan, as it can help improve insulin sensitivity, blood glucose control, and overall cardiovascular health. It is recommended that adults with diabetes engage in at least 150 min of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise—such as brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing weekly.

Combining Aerobic Exercise with Slow Deep Breathing – Total Reimbursement for Stress in Diabetes

Aside from aerobic exercise, other non-pharmaceutical interventions—such as diaphragmatic slow, deep breathing and mindfulness meditation training—have been found to influence stress levels. Diaphragmatic breathing has been reported to reduce the respiratory rate and maximizes the volume of gases in the blood.

In a clinical study involving 58 women with type 2 diabetes, women (n=58) doing aerobic exercise and slow deep breathing were compared with those women (n=29) who were doing only aerobic exercise on reduction of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and level of cortisol in blood. The results of this study revealed that combining slow deep breathing and mindfulness meditation with aerobic exercise significantly reduced the serum cortisol and FBG levels in women with T2DM than when only aerobic training was performed.¹

Net Benefits of Combining Aerobic Exercise with Slow Deep Breathing

The addition of slow deep breathing and mindfulness meditation to aerobic exercise can reduce the cortisol level by 33%, fasting blood glucose by 15%.

These effects will provide better control on stress and glucose levels in women with T2DM, that will improve their outcomes and reduce cardiometabolic risks.

References: 1. Obaya HE et al. Effect of aerobic exercise, slow deep breathing and mindfulness meditation on cortisol and glucose levels in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled trial. Front. Physiol. 2023,14:1186546. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1186546