High Intensity Workouts Lower Blood Sugar Levels in Type 2 Diabetes

Researchers have found that brief high intensity workouts, as little as six sessions over two weeks, rapidly lower blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes patients, offering a potential fix for patients who struggle to meet exercise guidelines.

It found that a total of 30 minutes of high-intensity intermittent exercise per week, involving a total time commitment of 75 minutes, lowered 24-hour blood sugar levels, reduced blood sugar spikes after meals, and increased skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity, a marker of metabolic health.

These findings are intriguing because they suggest that exercising very strenuously for short periods of time, may provide many of the same health benefits as traditional exercise training. This is the first study to show that intense interval training may be a potent, time-efficient strategy to improve glycemic regulation in people with type 2 diabetes.