After meals, especially those rich in carbohydrates, blood sugar usually rises rapidly and can peak in about 30-60 minutes. Moderate intensity exercise during this time, such as brisk walking for a few minutes and then resting and continuing walking, can help muscles use glucose more effectively, thereby supporting post-meal blood sugar control.
This exercise method is not too complicated and suitable for many ages. Middle-aged and older people can proactively adjust the intensity according to their physical condition, for example, brisk walking for 10 minutes, combined with standing up to stretch and then continuing to walk for another 10 minutes. Compared to just walking slowly, moderate interval exercise can create a better effect on blood sugar after meals.
The important thing is to exercise enough for the body to actually participate, instead of just walking casually. You can start about 30 minutes after meals, both avoiding exercising too early when the body is digesting, and taking advantage of the period when blood sugar tends to increase. However, this is mainly a measure to support blood sugar control in the short term, and cannot replace diet, regular exercise or treatment regimens for people with diabetes.
Besides the training time, limiting long sitting time also plays an important role. Sitting continuously for many hours and only focusing on exercising for a short period of time at the end of the day may not bring the desired effect. Instead, you should actively stand up, walk or do light exercise for a few minutes after each long sitting period.
Even simple activities such as walking for a few minutes per hour, standing up to exercise or walking on the spot also help the body maintain activeness during the day. Subdividing exercise time can therefore be easier to do and suitable for the rhythm of many people's lives.
In addition to exercise, eating times are also a factor to pay attention to when controlling blood sugar. Many people only care about choosing healthy foods and ignore the habit of eating out of time. Eating dinner too late, often eating late at night, snacking close to bedtime or skipping breakfast can affect the ability to control blood sugar and the body's circadian rhythm.
