Your mind and body are more intricately linked than science once suspected. Treatments that were once considered “New Age hocus pocus” now come with ample evidence that support their use, even for the most skeptical people out there.
In years past, many physicians might’ve scoffed at prescribing mindfulness meditation to patients with conditions like diabetes. Today, it’s mainstream to discuss lifestyle changes that include adding these practices to your daily routine to help with physical illnesses. Such interventions work as complements to traditional medicine, which often leads to true healing.
How does the mind-body connection work? How can mindfulness and meditation help diabetics? Let’s explore the processes and physiological systems at work.
Mindfulness for diabetics
Mindfulness is the act of being fully conscious and aware in the present moment. It’s tuning into various stimuli, processing them and responding instead of reacting off the cuff. With mindfulness, you’ll recognize that this moment is the only guarantee—the past is gone and the future will always be uncertain. Practicing mindfulness also comes with other benefits, such as improving your decision-making ability while helping you wring more joy out of each moment.
Part of mindfulness entails becoming more aware of your bodily sensations. Tuning into what’s happening physically greatly benefits people with diabetes, regardless of whether they have the Type 1 or Type 2 form of the disease. For example, many people with this condition develop ulcers from open wounds on the bottoms or sides of their feet. However, they may not notice that anything is wrong until visible swelling and discharge occur, and by this time, an infection may have spread.
Such injuries often occur because of diabetic neuropathy. This occurs when high blood sugar causes nerve damage to the affected areas, which are typically the extremities. When this happens, patients often experience numbness, but someone with diabetes who regularly performs mindful body scans might notice that there’s something amiss. They may tune into minor sensations that those who are constantly distracted by outside stimuli may not even feel.
The benefits of mindful eating
Another practice that benefits people with Type 2 diabetes, in particular, is mindful eating. You can participate in an exercise like the one below or merely tune into your physical sensations as you dine. Take the time to chew each bite slowly, while savouring the different flavors on your tongue—can you identify the ingredients in your meal? Put your fork down between bites and converse with loved ones, or simply admire the spread before you.
Why is this exercise so beneficial for those with Type 2 diabetes? These patients often have an unhealthy relationship with food that has contributed to their disease’s development. They may graze mindlessly on high-carbohydrate snacks, like pretzels or crackers made with all-purpose flour, or overindulge in sweet treats. They may have even lost track of what it feels like to be hungry versus full over the years.
Mindful eating will help you re-examine your relationship with food—without imposing a bunch of external rules like most diet plans will ask you to do. Instead, you’ll just listen to your body’s cues to determine when you’re hungry, what you crave and, most importantly, when you feel full. You can reconnect with food as a source of nourishment and, yes, sometimes comfort. When you do indulge in a treat to spark joy, you’ll appreciate every bite, slaking your appetite with far less than usual.
A 3-step chocolate exercise
To practice mindful eating, try this exercise with a piece of chocolate:
- Observe: Pick up the chocolate, but don’t unwrap it yet. Feel its weight in your hand, knowing that it’s going into your body. Observe the texture of the wrapper. Ask yourself, “How do I feel?” Are you anticipating the sweet treat? Perhaps grappling with guilt? Notice these thoughts without judging them, while possibly saying aloud, “I’m having the thought that _______.”
- Sniff and feel: Unwrap your treat. Notice the texture against your fingers—how does it feel different when you touch it with your tongue instead? Take a sniff. Does the aroma make your mouth water?
- Nibble and savour: Finally, it’s time to indulge—but don’t gulp that chocolate down all at once. Take a small nibble out of one corner, letting the richness melt on your tongue. How does it feel as it gets softer? Tune into your physical sensations. How does your body react to the anticipated treat?
Taming the axis and vagus
You’ve seen how mindfulness can help people with diabetes. The next important question is, how can meditation—which engages your mind—mitigate the symptoms of a physical disease like diabetes?
While sitting in a lotus pose won’t cure Type 1 diabetes, as it results from an autoimmune disorder, it may effectively mitigate many stressors that contribute to the Type 2 form of the disease. Fortunately, to practice meditation, tying yourself into a pretzel is unnecessary. What’s critical is making room for the silence to work its magic on your body’s central nervous system.
Research into stress has revealed that the body consistently releases many of the same chemicals when it’s stressed, regardless of whether your stressor is physical or mental. When you experience stimuli that set off your body’s stress response—such as a reprimand from your boss or a close call in traffic—this activates your HPA axis, which consists of your hypothalamus, your pituitary gland and your adrenal glands. This system, in turn, prompts your body to release inflammatory substances to fight off the danger.
In the short term, inflammation will assist your body with healing from disease or injury, but people can’t outrun modern stressors like rent and food bills that exceed their income. When inflammation becomes systemic and chronic, it contributes to various diseases, including diabetes.
Meditation will help downregulate your HPA axis by telling your body, “Hey, it’s OK. The danger has passed.” Performing breathing exercises like two-to-one breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, the side of your central nervous system that tells you it’s time to rest and digest.
لقد جلبت vagus nerve also plays a vital role in diabetes and symptoms of chronic disease. Additionally, it plays a huge role in the body’s stress response. This nerve, the longest of your 12 cranial nerves, carries messages between your brain and nearly every other organ in your body. When these signals come in too hot and heavy, excess stress and the unpleasant physical symptoms that accompany it will occur.
Meditation helps slow this signalling, thereby restoring a sense of calm to your vagus nerve. When it stops sending your brain “danger, Will Robinson” signals, your symptoms will ease.
Calming the biochemical storm
Scientists once pooh-poohed the idea that practices like meditation could help cure physical disease. Now, they recommend mindfulness techniques to their patients as therapies that’ll complement other forms of treatment.
Mindfulness and meditation help people with diabetes in multiple ways, by making them aware of their bodies and calming the biochemical storm that aggravates their symptoms. Now that you understand the science behind how it works, why not incorporate some mindfulness and meditation techniques into your diabetes care plan today?
Medical disclaimer: This page is for educational and informational purposes only and may not be construed as medical advice. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by physicians. Please refer to the full text of our medical disclaimer.
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