Do you have high numbers in the morning? Every morning? And do your numbers drop significantly during the day?
This situation is actually very common among the diabetic patients. So common that it has a name: “Dawn Phenomenon“. Not all of us are going through it, however there are many persons struggling to lower their morning numbers. And the dawn phenomenon is one of the most difficult numbers to combat. Actually, it can take even months until your body gets used to the new changes and starts to change its own “working hours and style”.
What is actually happening in your body during the night to raise your blood sugar up so high? Sometime in the middle of the night, after 3 maybe 4 o’clock, your liver gets the message that the body is going to wake up soon and it is going to need fuel to get started. As you might already know, there are some glucose warehouses in your body for the “rainy days” or nights. These are your muscles, the liver and the fat cushions around your hips and thighs as the unused glucose converts into fat.
Once the liver gets the wake-up call, it starts emptying the warehouse into the bloodstream, so that all the cells in your body have enough fuel to start working. Thus some of us have sky-scraping numbers in the morning hence the name “dawn phenomenon”.
What should we do? Here there are some tips:
- have an early, dinner, 3 to 4 hours before going to bed
- no carbs at dinner, just fiber and protein
- go for a walk after dinner or do some moderate exercises, like stretching or yoga
- have a good sleep in a chilled, well ventilated room
- have a rich breakfast as soon as you wake up, ideally with as less carbs as possible
- talk to your doctor to see if your treatment needs to be changed or not
Do not worry if you do not see any changes the first few weeks. Just keep on going, make a new routine so your body learns to take it easy. As long as you will have a good breakfast within an hour after waking up, your body will understand that there is no need to stress up during the night as it will receive the fuel from food in the morning and it does not have to empty its own storage. It will take time, it will not happen overnight! So be patient and keep on going with this routine and eventually you’ll overcome the dawn phenomenon.