Our bodies share an intricate relationship between bodily functions, everyday activities, and glucose. Hence, even with a diet that might seem healthy, a person’s blood sugar levels can still spike. India faces a particularly pronounced impact of diabetes, with the second-highest number of adults with the condition. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), our country has an estimated 77 million people suffering from diabetes (Type 2), and nearly 25 million are prediabetics. While Type 1 diabetes is less common, India still has a significant burden, ranking as the second-highest country for children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. Mentioned below are 5 extremely common everyday reasons that leave a lasting negative impact on blood sugar levels. 

Related Story: Diet Tips From A Nutritionist To Prevent Blood Sugar Spikes

1) Psychological Stress

Imagine you are stuck in the notorious Bengaluru traffic, and you have a client presentation to attend. Do you think only your irritation levels are rising? 

Here's what’s actually happening: Acute stress activates the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis and the sympathetic nervous system, leading to a surge in cortisol and adrenaline. This results in the breakdown of hepatic glycogen and gluconeogenesis, which in turn causes transient insulin resistance. For individuals with diabetes, stress after a meal can lead to an observable increase in blood glucose levels. 

In a controlled trial published in the National Library of Medicine titled “Effect of Psychological Stress on Glucose Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes,” the Trier Social Stress Test demonstrated that post-meal stress raised glucose levels by approximately 1.5 mmol/L (about 27 mg/dL) when compared to a non-stress control day.

Related Story: De-stress In Four Minutes With Box Breathing

2) Poor Sleep and Circadian Disruption 

Being a die-hard football fan in India often means sacrificing sleep for late-night matches. When you do that, your adrenaline levels go up, but your body’s ability to use insulin properly goes down. Research from the University of Chicago found that even a single night of just 4 hours of sleep made healthy young adults significantly less responsive to insulin and caused their livers to release more glucose. Their ability to clear glucose from the blood dropped by about 25 per cent the very next day. 

Over time, if this kind of sleep disruption becomes routine, insulin sensitivity can fall by 11–20 per cent, setting the stage for higher blood sugars and long-term metabolic issues.

Take care of your sleep routine with winding down rituals, practicing consistent cut off screen time and on short-sleep mornings, go for easy workouts like walking and cycling rather than heavy lifting or HIIT training. 

Related Story: What is a Sleep Divorce and How Can it Help Your Relationship

3) Intense Anaerobic or Heavy Resistance Training 

Surprised to see exercise on the list? Intense workouts like heavy weight training, sprints, or HIIT can actually cause a short-term rise in blood sugar. That’s because your body releases stress hormones during these sessions, which push the liver to release extra glucose to fuel your muscles. The good news is this effect is temporary—within a few hours your insulin sensitivity usually improves, and over the long run, exercise is one of the best ways to keep blood sugar in check.

If you notice spikes after a tough session, a few small tweaks can help. Try scheduling your heaviest workouts at a different time than your largest-carb meal, or end with 10–15 minutes of light walking or cycling to bring levels back down. Staying hydrated and adding electrolytes can also keep stress responses in control, especially in India’s heat. Over time, analyse your patterns to know which workouts push your numbers up and which ones bring them down.

Related Story: 7 Science-Based Ways to Lower Blood Sugar

4) Hormones and The Menstrual Cycle 

As confirmed by a 2023 systematic review in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, menstrual phases can affect glucose control, though the exact pattern varies from person to person. Many women notice that blood sugar feels harder to manage in the days before their period. In the late luteal phase (the week before bleeding), insulin sensitivity often drops and glucose runs a little higher. For women with type 1 diabetes, this can mean higher insulin needs during this phase. 

Imagine your pre-period week overlapping with Navratri garba nights—late hours, extra stress, and already reduced insulin sensitivity. Together, it’s a recipe for higher glucose readings.
In such scenarios, track your cycle, expect a higher baseline the week before your period, and adjust your lifestyle a bit—add more low-intensity movement, keep dinners lighter, and aim for an earlier bedtime.

Related Story: An Introduction To Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: It’s More Than PMS

5) Infections and “sick-day” hyperglycaemia

It is common to notice that sugar levels shoot up when the body battles a fever or flu. That’s because infections make the body release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, along with inflammatory chemicals. Together, they push the liver to release more glucose and make your body less sensitive to insulin. This temporary rise is called stress hyperglycaemia. The good news—it generally settles as the infection clears.

If you have diabetes, the most important rule is: don’t stop your basal insulin. Check your glucose every 2 to 4 hours, and sip fluids to avoid dehydration.

Food is just one side of the diabetic story. Stress, improper sleep, intense training, female-hormone phases, and infections all raise glucose via the same physiology: more liver glucose output + temporary insulin resistance. Learn your personal patterns and meet them with timing, movement, breath, sleep, and smart sick-day planning. Your sugar graph and how you feel will eventually follow. 

Health should be a priority always, and at UR.Life, we help you make it one. Our Corporate Wellness programme is designed to support and lift employees so they can be healthy and their most productive self at work. Our holistic wellness approach caters to all aspects of your well-being. We ensure that you are able to bring your whole self to work.

With our Occupational Health Centers and Health Risk Assessment, you can find out which diagnostic tests will be best for your individual needs and get started right away. Our medical professionals ensure that routine health check-ups will never be an issue. Advanced laboratory technologies and certified methods ensure that you are always able to put your health first. 

Click here to learn more about the UR.Life Corporate Wellness programme and unlock better health.