It is very important to keep a rein on blood sugar as best as you can.
But one of the things that people often get into a panic about is their morning blood sugar.
Shouldn’t it be lower in the morning? Not higher?
If you’re confused you’re not alone and if you missed our info about why blood sugar is high in the morning, you might want to read that over here.
Here we are going to explore 10 practical ways to help lower your morning high blood sugar.
10 Tips To Lower Morning Blood Sugar
1. Fancy Some Apple Cider Vinegar & Cheese Before Bed?
One small study found that having 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with 1 oz (28 g) cheese (which is just 1 slice cheese) before bed reduced morning glucose by 4% compared to 2% when the participants only had cheese and water. The best apple cider vinegar to use is this one by Braggs.
People that had a typical fasting glucose above 130 mg/dl or 7.2 mmol/l had an even better result of 6% decrease in morning blood sugar levels. It’s not fully understood why vinegar has such a beneficial effect but it seems that the acetic acid in the vinegar does have a positive influence so taking apple cider vinegar might just be the most effective thing.
2. Have A Specially Designed Snack
Many people find that a bedtime snack can help. This is most likely because it shortens the ‘fasting’ time and may slow down the livers own glucose production. If you’re not using the apple cider vinegar method above, try having a mix of protein and fat combined before going to bed.
Here are a few ideas:
- A tablespoon of natural peanut butter
- A small piece of chicken with avocado
- A small handful of macadamia nuts
- A couple of slices of cheese
These are all simple snacks that contain both protein and fat.
3. Enjoy A Good Dinner
Make sure you eat something substantial for dinner, a meal high in fiber and low in carbs is best. It’s never a good idea to skip meals because this can raise blood glucose levels. The liver will still produce glucose even if you don’t eat.
4. Sleep Soundly
Make sure you get a good restful sleep every day because lack of sleep can increase cortisol production (our key stress hormone) and this pushes glucose levels higher.
5. Avoid Alcohol
Although drinking alcohol might seem relaxing it is best to steer clear of it because it’s actually a stimulant and prevents deep REM sleep. We just pointed out that lack of sleep can increase the production of our stress hormone cortisol, which also increases blood glucose.
6. Try A Protein Powered Morning Start
To help bring blood sugar levels down eat something when you get up but make sure it’s a protein – eating carbs when your blood glucose is already high will only push it up further.
You only need a snack and then you can follow that with a little bit of exercise.
7. Adopt A Morning Ritual
Developing a morning ritual is a great habit for a healthy mind and body and it will also help lower your morning blood sugar as well. Try doing some yoga, stretching or go for a walk first thing in the morning – it’s often best to have that protein powered snack first before you do exercise.
8. Speak To Your Physician
If you think your morning levels are way too high or no matter what you do you can’t get them down, talk to your physician or health practitioner to see if you might need to alter your medication.
9. Control Your Diabetes
Manage your diabetes and hormones by eating a healthy diet, eating the right type of carbs, exercising regularly, and stressing less. The more controlled you can keep your blood sugars overall, the better your morning sugars will be as well.
10. Lose Some Weight
Even a small amount of weight loss can promote better blood glucose levels, balance hormones, reduce inflammation and generally make you feel a whole lot better.
Different things work for different people but keep these things in mind and give a few of them a try to see what works best for you.
If you’ve found something else has worked for you, be sure to share by leaving your comments below.
My fasting numbers were always high, had can sardines, with garlic olive oil drizzled over it, my number was 105, going to try it again see if that works
Please keep us posted on your progress! The best bedtime snacks are ones that contain protein and fat- so sardines fit the requirements perfectly.
Another strategy that a lot of people like is taking some apple cider vinegar and cheese prior to bed. If you continue to struggle with high morning blood sugar you may want to try that next.
Do you know a healthy protein drink for type 2 diabetes. I am not a breakfast person.
Thank you.
That’s a great idea for an easy breakfast, Jeannie. We have written an article all about protein powder (and drinks) which you will find useful.
The general rule of thumb is to look for something with a relatively short ingredient list and without any artificial sweeteners, and of course we always encourage you to look for something low carb. The link above will provide some suggestions of our favorite protein powders. If you are looking for something pre-made, the same rules apply.
Hi Jedha, I appreciate all this great information. I am not diabetic but my husband and I are both high risk, we don’t eat well, we decided to try to eat like we have it to prevent it!
We actually wrote an article all about prevention– check it out over here!
That’s a great idea Lou – both of you will appreciate the benefits anyway and I’m so happy you’re finding the info useful 🙂
Thank you all I have learnt so much from this site,
I have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. How long do I wait to eat a snack? If I have to leave the house by 10:00 am for an appointment that lasts more than 2 hours do I snack? Help!
First, you may consider checking your blood sugar mid morning a few days per week. Record the numbers so you can watch for trends. If you’re constantly high mid morning, you may need to ditch your morning snack and work with your doctor to adjust any medications and/or re-evaluate your breakfast food choices as to why your blood sugar might be going so high. If you find you’re very low mid morning, then a snack would be a must for you!
In general, I think it’s always a good idea to carry a small snack with you when you’ll be out for awhile. Not only can snacks be a great way to sneak some extra nutrition into your day, but they can definitely help keep blood sugar levels even and prevent binge eating or rash food choices from being made later one.
Here are a ton of great snack ideas!
I find taking psyllium fiber to be very helpful to blood glucose. Also, cinnamon, green tea and of course, ACV.
Yes Debbie, we encourage psyllium, green tea and cinnamon, as they are all very beneficial!
I have had type 2 for 20 years.
Not overweight.My A1C has been in the 7.5 range for a while it used to be in 6 range.My morning # are high even if bedtime was normal.
Is it unusual for blood sugars to remain the same all night? Only reducing by one or two points by morning?
Your body still creates glucose even when you don’t eat. So although you’d assume it would go down overnight, for most of us, diabetic or not, blood sugar remains fairly stable. However, with diabetes your body can have a tendency to overproduce glucose and insulin resistance and hormone dysruptions can prevent proper utilization of the glucose, which is why many people can have high morning levels.
Is the cheese snack going to increase cholesterol?
I think you’ll find this info on cholesterol helpful Diane, as most people don’t understand it. You might also find this info on dairy beneficial. According to research, there is no link between dairy consumption and higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Thanks for informative article
I am diabetic since 1995, aged 62 yrs and stopped Insulin and tablets by following LCHF diet for 1.5 years. Last year admitted into hospital for high levels of sugar and after investigations, doctor found 2 blocks and had 2 stents. Doctor blamed for blocks due to consumption of high fats and non veg and since then came back to normal food with 2 times insulin (14 units in the morning with Glyxambi tab and 12 units in the evening with Gluformin tab) in addition cardiac tablets. I want to switch over to LCHF diet but afraid of cardiac recurrence. What is your advise?
Hi Malini,
Check out our low carb diet guidelines to get an overview what foods you should be focusing on and which you should try to avoid. These guidelines will not only help your blood sugars, but also improve cardiovascular health.
I was born with diabetes and I was wondering if acv and a piece of cheddar is good to help lower my blood sugars. Keepvin mind that I have type 1 diabetes.
The evidence around ACV is for type 2 diabetes so really can’t offer any guidance on type 1. We do specialize in type 2 here Valeri.
What are the possible side effects of apple cider vinegar to a 13 year old with Diabetes?
We do not work with children so cannot comment.
Hi mines blood sugar is up it was up 224 stop eatting sweets starches and on low carb eatting what else can help
Once you get your daily levels tightly controlled, the morning numbers will regulate also. Stay tuned next week and the week after, we have some more info about the Dawn Phenomenon and a discussion on fasting blood sugar.
Been dealing with high morning readings and having trouble getting the numbers down.
My dr says not to eat after 7….?
Perhaps you could ask your doctor if it’s worth trying the apple cider and cheese. It has been shown to be effective so it may work well for you. After all, it is not a lot of food, just on slice of cheese.
What kind of cheese and how much apple cider vinegar?
How much and how long, what time of day or night
As the article says above: “2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with 1 oz (28 g) cheese (which is just 1 slice cheese) before bed” – cheddar is best. You can water the apple cider down a little.
please what kind of cheese should we use with apple cider vinegar?
Your best bet is either cheddar or mozzarella, but feta, ricotta, or cottage cheese make great choices as well.
66 year old male type 2 , I am waiting for spine op so find exercise difficult especially walking, any ideas?, Sugar levels always too high, I am obese too.
Hi Jeff, not sure if you’re able to swim with your injury but swimming is great and also easy on the joints. Alternatively, you might try some seated exercises, such as these chair leg lifts. Or incorporate some chair squats.
I’m enjoying your site and picking up some great tips. Question- do any of you have diabetes? I didn’t see any mention of it, and of the several diabetes classes I’ve taken locally none of the instructors had diabetes.
Just curious 🙂
Welcome Ken and glad you’re enjoying the site. 🙂
No, none of us are diabetic but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand it.
Hi Jedha,
Thanks for the quick reply!
Ken
You’re welcome Ken, we’re always here for our community 🙂