Woman with diabetes is wearing small sensor on the back of upper arm for controlling blood sugar. She is measuring blood sugar level after sport activity, riding bicycle.

Exercise And Diabetes: Strategies For Caregivers

Exercise plays an important role in caring for your loved one’s health, keeping strong muscles and bones, and taking care of long-term conditions. As a caregiver for someone with diabetes, it is important to not only help them with their medication but also provide encouragement and help with keeping a healthy lifestyle. For someone with diabetes, adding regular physical activity to their life can be a hard and overwhelming task.

This article will explain:

  • Why exercise is useful for your loved one with diabetes, 
  • Which types of exercise they should do, 
  • How to keep them safe during exercise. 

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Understanding Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition that makes it hard for the body to keep a healthy blood sugar level. People with diabetes either do not make a hormone called insulin or are not able to use it properly. 

Because we use insulin to turn our blood sugar into energy, people with diabetes are at risk of having high blood sugar levels, which can lead to problems with their kidneys, heart, eyes, and feeling.

 There are two main types of diabetes: 

  • Type 1 Diabetes: a condition where the pancreas cannot make insulin properly, and the person with the condition must give themselves shots of insulin to make up for it. 
  • Type 2 Diabetes: when our bodies can make insulin, but they do not use it properly. People with this condition become “insulin resistant,” and blood sugar begins to build up in the bloodstream.

Studies show that 1 in 9 adults has diabetes. That number is expected to increase to 1 in 8 adults by 2050.4. Diabetes is becoming more and more common, which is why it is so important to learn how to manage it.

Types of Exercise and How They Affect Glucose Levels

There are different types of exercise, all of them are useful for someone with diabetes to make a part of their daily life. Each type of exercise can affect the body differently, and understanding each one can be helpful as you care for your loved one. 

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is “repeated and continuous movement of large muscle groups.” 1 Examples of aerobic exercise are:  

  • Running
  • Walking
  • Cycling
  • Jogging
  • Swimming

According to the American Diabetes Association, taking part in 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week is suggested to keep up your fitness.9 Aerobic exercise lowers glucose levels because the body uses it for energy. This helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Two men wearing blood glucose monitors on their arms walk together in a park.

Resistance Exercises

Strength training is any exercise that uses resistance bands, weights, or body weight, which makes the muscle work harder and eventually grow and improve strength. Resistance exercise causes muscles to tear apart and rebuild. This rebuilding process uses glucose, which can help control blood sugar. It can also increase a person’s body’s ability to produce insulin and help the body use insulin more quickly and easily, which helps fight insulin resistance.

 Examples of resistance training include: 

  • Using free weights
  • Weight machines
  • Resistance bands
  • Body weight exercises like push-ups or squats

Resistance exercise is suggested for people with diabetes to do 2-3 times a week, focusing on different muscles for each session. 

Balance and Flexibility Exercises

This type of exercise focuses on improving stability, coordination, and balance reactions. Examples of this type of exercise include tai chi or yoga. Balance and flexibility exercises don’t directly lower blood sugar levels, but they do help promote healthy muscles, improve bone density, and can help improve a person’s fitness, which is beneficial for anyone.

Benefits of Exercise for Diabetes Management

Exercise is an important way for someone with diabetes to keep up their health and fitness. It has many benefits related to heart health, bone and muscle strength, and mental health. Here are some specific health benefits: 

  1. Improved Blood Sugar Control 

When we exercise, our body uses up the sugar in our bloodstream. For people with diabetes, high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), this is useful because it can help blood glucose levels stay at a regular level. 

According to the American Diabetes Association, exercise helps your cells become more sensitive to insulin, so it works better to lower blood sugar levels.8 Because of this, it is important to watch the blood sugar of your care recipient to stop it from going too low (hypoglycemia). We will discuss this topic more below.

  1. Cardiovascular Fitness

The goal for everyone is 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Having a healthy heart means a lower risk of heart attack, stroke, and other conditions, as well as better fitness.

  1. Management of Weight

Exercise can help your care recipient avoid too much weight gain. This is helpful for overall brain, heart, and body health. Managing weight and reducing excess fat is important for those with Type 2 diabetes because this would lead to more insulin resistance.

  1. Mental Health Benefits 

Exercise can help reduce cortisol, a stress hormone, and help your body release natural “feel-good” chemicals. This can help decrease stress and improve overall mood and quality of life. 

When Is the Best Time to Exercise? 

There is a lot of different research on the best time for people with diabetes to exercise. The advice depends on a few different things, including the type of diabetes the person has, how they like to exercise, and other important parts of their daily life. Here are some key takeaways on when to exercise, depending on the type of diabetes your care recipient has. 

For those with Type 1 Diabetes, the best times to exercise include: 

  • Before meals, because you would have the least amount of insulin in your body and are less likely to have a hypoglycemic event, which is when your blood sugar levels drop too low. Blood glucose levels are also higher before meals, so your care recipient has more glucose available during exercise. 
  • Right after a small meal or snack, glucose is available to give energy to the body during exercise. This improves overall glucose control. 
  • Waiting 2-3 hours after rapid-acting insulin administration. At this time, insulin would have worn off, and the care recipient would be at low risk for a hypoglycemic event.

For those with Type 2 Diabetes, these are some important things to consider for exercising: 

  • About 60-90 minutes after eating a meal. Exercise can act as insulin, lowering glucose levels. Because people with type 2 diabetes don’t take insulin, this is the perfect time to get a workout in. 
  • At a consistent time of day. Our bodies prefer consistency. Choosing a specific time each day to exercise is beneficial for our bodies and can help your care recipient get in the habit of regular exercise, which will help with weight management.

Tips for Caregivers

  • Have your care recipient take an “exercise snack”. This is a short activity right after meals (like climbing stairs or taking a short walk) to help manage their blood glucose level.
  • Monitor closely. Monitor blood sugar before, during, and after activity. Watch for episodes of low blood sugar if your care recipient has type 1 diabetes. 
  • Keep glucose tabs or snacks on hand. In case your care recipient has an episode of low blood sugar, be sure to have carb-heavy snacks or glucose tabs to prevent large and consistent drops.
  • Start slowly. Starting a new routine can seem hard. Set a small goal your care recipient can reach, such as taking a ten-minute walk after having a meal. 
  • Make it a habit. Plan exercise as part of the daily routine to make it easier to do. Use a calendar or exercise tracker to help your care recipient stay on track and stick with this exercise regimen.

Conclusion

Regular exercise is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for all, especially for people with diabetes. As a caregiver for someone with this condition, you have the opportunity to work with them on this journey. There is no one-size-fits-all way to manage diabetes and exercise, but there are some strategies that anyone with diabetes will benefit from. It is important to:

  •  Understand how glucose can be affected by exercise, 
  • To monitor your loved one closely before, during, and after exercise, 
  • To encourage and help them make physical activity a part of their daily routine. 

By doing so, you can encourage them to take control of their condition and make the best choices for their long-term health. 

References

  1. Colberg, S. R., Sigal, R. J., Yardley, J. E., Riddell, M. C., Dunstan, D. W., Dempsey, P. C., Horton, E. S., Castorino, K., & Tate, D. F. (2016). Physical activity/exercise and diabetes: A position statement of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care, 39(11), 2065–2079.
  2. George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. (2013, November 1). Faculty research highlights potential benefits of walking to prevent type 2 diabetes.
  3. Harvard Health Publishing. (n.d.). The importance of exercise when you have diabetes.
  4. International Diabetes Federation. (2025). Diabetes facts and figures.
  5. Mayo Clinic Staff. (2024, January 9). Diabetes and exercise: When to monitor your blood sugar. Mayo Clinic.
  6. Riddell, M. C., Scott, S. N., Fournier, P. A., Colberg, S. R., Gallen, I. W., Moser, O., Saboo, B., Jones, T. W., & Adolfsson, P. (2023). Is there an optimal time of day for exercise? A systematic review. Diabetes Spectrum.
  7. American Diabetes Association. (n.d.). Fitness: It’s a great time to get moving.
  8. American Diabetes Association. (n.d.). Understanding your blood glucose and exercise.
  9. American Diabetes Association. (n.d.). Weekly exercise targets.
  10. GW Hospital. (2023, October 25). The best time to exercise if you have diabetes.

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