• It's important to know what a normal blood sugar is if you have diabetes, or if you may be at gamble.
  • For diabetics, normal blood sugar levels are considered between eighty to 130 mg/dL afterwards fasting, and less than 180 mg/dL ane to two hours after eating.
  • For those without diabetes, normal blood saccharide levels are considered between lxx to 99 mg/dL after fasting, and less than 140 after eating.
  • This article was medically reviewed by Jason R. McKnight, MD, MS, a family unit medicine physician and clinical assistant professor at Texas A&Thou College of Medicine.
  • This story is part of Insider'southward guide to Diabetes.

If y'all take diabetes , daily management of your blood sugar levels is important to feeling your best and preventing long-term wellness complications.

Blood sugar can besides be an important measurement to decide your risk for diabetes. For example, those with prediabetes will have their blood sugar tested at least annually, as abnormal blood sugar levels can indicate you may be probable to develop type 2 diabetes .

Hither's what you lot need to know almost how blood sugar is measured, what's considered normal, and how to regulate blood sugar if information technology's besides high or low.

What is blood sugar?

Blood saccharide, or blood glucose, is a measurement of the amount of glucose in your blood.

When you swallow carbohydrates, your trunk breaks down those carbs into glucose. This becomes your torso's master source of free energy, and fuels the vital functions in your brain, heart, liver, and muscles, says Nestoras Mathioudakis, MD, a diabetes skillful at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

For people without diabetes, the pancreas releases insulin to help your cells blot glucose and fuel your body. Merely for people with diabetes, the body does non produce insulin or it doesn't work properly, and as a event, blood carbohydrate levels must be carefully regulated to preclude health complications.

How to measure blood saccharide levels

There are 2 main means to check your blood sugar levels:

  1. Blood glucose exam. There are many calm devices — such equally finger-prick monitoring kits or continuous glucose monitors — that yous can employ to measure blood sugar on your own.
  2. An A1C test. A1C is a blood test, conducted past your doctor, that describes your average blood sugar levels for the past three months.

Type i diabetics, along with some blazon 2 diabetics, who require insulin medication, must bank check their blood sugar at least four times per day, says Mathioudakis. Typically, this should exist done earlier a meal, one to two hours after a meal, and at bedtime.

The timing of these measurements can help determine how much insulin to utilise. For example, it can be important to use more insulin afterward a high-carbohydrate meal, or to avert falling into hypoglycemia while you're sleeping.

To cheque your blood sugar at home, you should use blood glucose tests, such as a glucose meter or continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Both devices mensurate blood carbohydrate with the unit mg/dL, which means a milligram of sugar per deciliter of blood.

If you don't have diabetes, but you may be at risk, your md might have you lot accept an A1C test during a yearly check-up. This test reports results every bit a percentage; the higher the percentage, the college your blood saccharide has been in the past three months. Those with diabetes should get an A1C examination at least twice a year — and sometimes every 3 months.

What's normal?

The following chart depicts normal blood saccharide measurements, depending on which exam you use and when you take it.

Yuqing Liu/Insider

Overall, what is considered a normal claret sugar level can expect different depending on someone'due south age, weight, gender, and other factors.

For example, a 2017 report published in the periodical Physiology & Beliefs suggests that women could have lower fasting blood glucose levels and be more insulin resistant due to lower muscle mass compared to men. Even so, the aforementioned study finds that pre-diabetic symptoms like dumb fasting glucose is more mutual amongst men. Normal blood carbohydrate levels too increase equally you age.

So, talk with your doctor nigh what normal claret sugar is for you in order to best manage your wellness.

How to regulate your blood saccharide levels

Near of the time, you'll be able to regulate your blood sugar on your own if it's too high or depression.

If your levels are too loftier — over 140 mg/dL earlier a meal or 180 mg/dL after a meal — you may be experiencing hyperglycemia. Symptoms can include:

  • Headache
  • Irritability
  • Fatigue
  • Frequent urination
  • Excess thirst

To lower claret saccharide, yous'd desire to use more insulin medication to help your cells absorb glucose.

On the other paw, hypoglycemia is when your blood sugar is too low, typically under 70 mg/dL. Common signs may include:

  • Hunger
  • Nausea
  • Confusion
  • Feeling shaky or sweaty
  • Blurred vision

If y'all need to raise your blood sugar, you lot should eat a glucose tablet or drink something sugary, such as fruit juice.

Mathioudakis says that those with a family history of diabetes — and who show high fasting glucose — should talk with their doctor about how to regulate claret sugar levels. And if your blood sugar spikes too high, such as 200 mg/dL or more, you should seek immediate medical attention.

  • The best fruits for diabetics — and how much yous should eat
  • Is diabetes genetic? Both type 1 and type 2 are influenced by family history — hither'due south how to know your gamble

MK Manoylov is a contributer at INSIDER and a freelance scientific discipline writer. MK is currently pursuing a chief's degree from New York Academy'due south Science, Wellness, and Ecology Reporting Program (SHERP). When not reporting on a story, you can detect MK writing fiction.