According to research appearing in the January, 2002 issue of Diabetes Care, stress management can help to lower blood sugar levels in type II (adult onset) diabetics. The HbA1c test measures the average blood sugar levels over a period of time. There were 108 subjects in the study, aged 30 or above and all had type-2 diabetes. All subjects participated in a diabetes education program. The education program provided to one group included stress management. The control group did not receive stress management.
Stress reduction techniques like breathing exercises, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation and instruction on how to cope with stress lowered HbA1c levels by an average of 0.5%. Nearly 1/3 of the subjects had a reduction of 1%.
