Moving for Your Mind: How Exercise is in Step with Mental Health with Diabetes

Evidence Behind Movement and Mental Health  

For people living with diabetes, motivation can fluctuate, especially when overwhelmed by the demands of constant responsibility. But what if the very act of moving our bodies could lift that burden?

So where does this fit in with diabetes? It’s no secret that those living with diabetes have increased distress, anxiety, depression, and more probability of mental health challenges.^1,2,5,7 This makes complete sense with the added responsibilities, brain space, and energy managing a chronic condition takes. Although diabetes can negatively impact our mental health, movement is a tool that can help! 

There is positive evidence behind movement improving mood, reducing stress, cognitive and brain benefits, sleep quality, and many other mental health benefits. ^3,4,6 Sounds like a pretty good deal!

Knowing how beneficial exercise can be for both your mental health and diabetes management? It’s a really helpful tool to keep in your diabetes toolbox. 

Let’s chat about how to incorporate exercise into your diabetes management in a way that benefits your mental health! 

Exercise vs. Your Mental Bandwidth

When you live with diabetes, exercise can be challenging to incorporate on days diabetes is taking up all your mental bandwidth . 

Diabetes already takes up a lot of brain space, and you might feel like exercising is yet another thing added to your plate. Sometimes movement can feel daunting, which is ironic when you’re exercising for mental health. Remember! Exercise doesn’t have to be perfect to be helpful. 

Diabetes can create a reason to pause during exercise. This can be a mindful moment. Whether that means treating a below range blood glucose, drinking more water to combat a stubborn above range, and/or constantly checking blood glucose ranges throughout the process. Even though you may be stopping to take care of diabetes, it is a moment when you can pause and reset. 

By allowing ourselves to acknowledge exercising with diabetes can be another mental load, we are one step ahead. We know that there may need to be modifications made along the way. We allow ourselves to control what we can and know that anything we accomplish exercise wise, is a benefit to mental health. 

Planning Ahead

Planning ahead can allow more more time to think about exercising and diabetes which will benefit your mental health. 

• Decide what time of day you will exercise. This can help ensure that timing of insulin delivery, meals, and/or snacks before and/ or after exercise are optimized to keep your blood glucose in range. 
• Pre pack your bag with low snacks. Pre-pack a bag, fanny pack, backpack, with hypo treatments. This way, you’re ready to roll and always know you have enough glucose on you. 
• Share your exercise plans with a loved one. Tell a friend or loved one when and where you are going to exercise. This can help create accountability and ensure safety in case you need someone in the event of an emergency. 
• Plan what you can, but be ready to adapt. Get excited about whatever type of movement you’re doing, and remember- it’s ok to adapt! If you planned on cardio and instead are trending below range, you may need pivot to meditation or breathwork intsead. 
  • You will know what exercise you need in the moment based on blood glucose trends, mood, and what exercise equipment you have available to you. 

Regardless of how you move your body, you are benefiting a huge muscle-  your brain and mental health. 

Tips and Tricks

Use these when your mental health is waning, moving your body feels like molasses, and/or diabetes feels too heavy to move with for the day.

• Moving your body can be simple, like taking a walk around the block. It doesn’t always have to be dedicated time in the gym or hours out of your day! Start with something small and notice how it affects your mood. 
• Coordinate movement type to match your blood glucose. See how you feel and adapt as you go!  
  • Example: low cardio or gentle movement like yoga when BG’s are lower for the day or if you feel your BG’s are above range , you can incorporate more endurance cardio. 
• Meditation and breathwork can incorporate movement. These avenues into movement can help bridge the gap into more movement if and when needed. An example of this may be a 5 minute gratitude practice and/or box breathing.
• Take a moment to acknowledge how you feel, try again, OR know it’s okay if you don’t exercise today. Sometimes other factors get in the way (your blood sugar, the weather, the latest episode of Dancing with the Stars). Rest is a key component of exercise and mental health!