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Exercise is required to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Although, making time to go the gym or going for a run can be difficult for us to fit into our schedule. People with type 1 diabetes have other things that can prevent them from being able to exercise. Managing type 1 diabetes often requires several insulin injections or adjustments of an insulin pump, taking up to 10 blood samples a day. Exercise lowers blood sugar level and helps improve the body’s use of insulin. This is great for most of us, but diabetics often need to reduce their insulin dose before exercising. That not all! During exercise, maintaining normal blood glucose levels is also critical because too much insulin can lead to hypoglycemia and too little can cause hyperglycemia.

This is like a lot to keep track of, especially for someone already focusing on a particular exercise or physical activity at hand. Dr. Alan Marcus says, “Since diabetes affects everyone differently, it’s important for people to understand how daily activities such as work, sleep, eating and exercise affect their diabetes management.”

Exercise is a vital part of our life and it has many benefits too. “The data show that regular moderate exercise increases your ability to battle the effects of disease,” says Marilyn Moffat, a professor of physical therapy at New York University. “It has a positive effect on both physical and mental well-being. The goal is to do as much physical activity as your body lets you do, and rest when you need to rest.”

If you have type 1 diabetes and are not exercising now, talk to your doctor about how to get started. Over time, a sense of accomplishment, better sleep, less pain and enhanced satisfaction with life can become further reasons to pursue physical activity!