Checking your blood sugar at home is an essential part of managing diabetes. Monitoring your blood levels throughout the day can help you improve diabetes management. And with today’s blood glucose meters, it’s easy and quick to measure your blood sugar.
The big question is this: how often should you check your blood sugar? At what times should you be checking? Here’s a closer look at the answer to those questions, as well as some tips on what you can do with your results.
When should you check your blood sugar?
It’s important to talk to your diabetes care team about how often you need to check your blood sugar. The frequency of which you need to check generally depends on the type of diabetes and your specific treatment plan.
Type 1 diabetes
For individuals who have type 1 diabetes, doctors often recommend checking between four and 10 times per day. Some of the times you may need to include1:
- Before you exercise
- After exercise
- Before going to bed
- During the night (at times)
- If you’re taking a new medicine
- If your daily routine changes
- If you get sick
- If you’re dealing with regular low blood sugars
Type 2 diabetes
If you manage your type 2 diabetes with lifestyle changes or non-insulin medicines, you may be told to only check your blood sugar once daily. However, if you take insulin to manage your type 2 diabetes, your care team may recommend that you check multiple times per day.2 Checking is generally recommended at bedtime and before and after meals when taking multiple daily injections of insulin.
What to do with your results
Whether you check once or multiple times a day, you may wonder what to do with those results. The first thing you should do is make sure you record your numbers each time you check. Looking at these numbers can provide you with a lot of information.
So what can your results tell you?3
- Checking after you wake up may tell your care team if you need to adjust your insulin.
- Checking before and after eating helps you to see how meals affect your blood sugar levels.
Together, you and your care team can use your collective results to tailor the best diabetes management plan for you — and help you reach your blood sugar targets.
Additional times to check
Outside of the normal times you check your blood sugar, you may also want to include3:
- When you experience the symptoms of low blood sugar — sweating, dizziness, confusion, chills, or shaking
- When you have symptoms of high blood sugar — blurry vision, excessive thirst, frequent urination, and sleepiness
- When you’re taking a new medication
- When you’ve changed your activity level or exercise routine
- When you’re dealing with more stress than usual
1 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/blood-sugar/art-20046628
2 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351199
3 https://familydoctor.org/monitoring-your-blood-sugar-level/
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/managing-diabetes/know-blood-sugar-numbers
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/managing-blood-sugar/bloodglucosemonitoring.html
The mySugr website does not provide medical or legal advice. mySugr blog articles are not scientific articles, but intended for informational purposes only.
Medical or nutritional information on the mySugr website is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a physician or health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
