Find something you enjoy— dancing , biking , yoga —and do a little bit of it as regularly as you can. By Amy Norton. By Julia Ries. By Ayana Underwood. It might be something you traditionally associate with stress reduction, like meditation, yoga, or soothing breathwork exercises.

It could also be something creative, like playing music or painting. Whatever helps you chill out, treat it like an important lifestyle habit—meaning it deserves just as much dedication as eating a balanced breakfast. Leung advises starting small.

One of the kindest things you can do for your mind and body is to set yourself up for success the next day by putting sleep first. Not only that, but sleep deprivation—usually defined as regularly getting fewer than seven hours a night for most adults—can impact hormones involved in glucose metabolism, Licalzi explains.

For instance, lack of sleep can make your body more resistant to insulin , which means insulin produced naturally or injected is less effective, resulting in higher blood sugars. Whenever you can, do your best to treat your sleep like the necessity it is, not a luxury.

Focus on maintaining a consistent sleep schedule like waking up and dozing off around the same times each day , practicing good sleep hygiene like setting a cutoff time for scrolling on your phone , and ideally getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

This, of course, can be easier said than done—especially if you work a shift job or have caregiving responsibilities, for example—but incorporating even a few soothing presleep habits into your routine as consistently as possible can help set the stage for deep rest.

Self-care can sometimes involve the people closest to you too. For instance, you can ask your friends, family, or partner for practical support as you adopt new lifestyle habits and get used to diabetes treatment. Leung says. Diabetes can be isolating and overwhelming—and finding connection with people like you is the antidote.

Local and virtual communities for people with diabetes can help you feel seen, understood, and held, which in itself is deeply nourishing. You also get to learn about what works for other people and be inspired by their progress.

You have plenty of options, including free support groups run by health care providers or people with diabetes, paid diabetes education or health coaching programs, and virtual communities on online forums and social media. The American Association of Diabetes Educators also has a great handout of ways to tap into the online diabetes community.

You are normal. Perfection is not realistic. Sometimes, the best thing you can do to take care of yourself is… allow yourself to not do all the things to take care of yourself all the time. To practice giving yourself some grace, you can try a short self-compassion meditation technique or check out these tips about self-love and acceptance.

You can also use Dr. SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

Fitness Food Health Love Beauty Life Conditionally Shopping. Video Challenges Workouts Newsletter Signup. American Diabetes Association ADA advocates that weight loss, monitoring the intake of carbohydrate, and fiber, restriction of cholesterol, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium as the integral part of DM treatment 8.

In addition, it is suggested that patients required additional approaches to address individual, family, and social practice to improve self-management 9. Self-care is defined as the care that incorporates any deliberate moves to look after physical, mental and emotional health.

The patient decision and behavior that they engage in any chronic disease that affects their well being is the best characteristics of self-management Self-care practices involve a variety of areas that includes food, exercise, medicine, emotion, sleep, and medical care Given the importance of self-care and self-management of diabetes is imperative for adolescent DM patient, it is necessary to review the self-care practices among these patients.

The review focused on the impact of self-care and self-management among adolescents with T2DM aged between 12 and 19 years old. The literature search was performed using three electronic databases i. Additional studies were identified from the bibliography of the articles.

Conference abstracts, editorial letters, review papers and non-English literature were excluded. The scopes of self-care and self-management among adolescent patients with T2DM were divided into three sections: self-care practices, efficiency of self-care support system, and assessment of self-care.

Diabetes self-care is a transformative process of improvement of information in the social surroundings by figuring out how to cope with the complex environment 12 , It is essential to have reliable and substantial measures for self-care and self-management of diabetes 14 , Diabetes self-care behavior refers to the practices embraced by individuals with or at the risk of DM in order to manage their disease effectively by themselves Seven major diabetic self-care practices include healthy diet, physically dynamic, glucose monitoring, proper medication, excellent problem-solving attitudes, sound adapting abilities, and risk-reduction All these seven self-care practices are associated with good glycaemic control, problem reduction and improvement in quality of life 16 , The type of activities of self-care and self-management for DM are presented in Table 1 18 — Obesity is the main problem for most adolescent patients with T2DM 21 , Dietary intervention is a vital element for weight reduction in the management and treatment of obesity.

A few studies have focused on obesity management in children 23 , Only a limited studies focused on the treatment and management of adolescent patients with T2DM that have incorporated dietary intervention in combination with exercise and behavioral strategies 25 — The findings from these studies showed negative results in regard to the impact of diet on treatment outcomes; however, the independent effects of dietary changes was not evaluated.

A recent study compared long-term reduced glycemic load diets with standard reduced-fat diet among obese adolescent patients. It showed that reduced glycemic load diet can be a good substitute to a conventional reduced-fat diet for lowering diabetic complications in obese adolescents with T2DM Self-management of exercise and physical activity is an integral part of controlling diabetes and assisting with the movement of the skeletal muscle.

The major aims of exercise are to facilitate the regulation of blood glucose, improve insulin action, fat and protein metabolism, avoid diabetic complications, and enhance life expectance An article aims to equip the primary care providers with the current standard of care of T2DM management in youth emphasizes an management of goal of normalizing glycemia and HbA1c, enhancing diabetes self-management capacities, increasing exercise, reducing weight, and improving nutrition Adequate physical activity is associated with a lower HbA1c provided that it is coupled with dietary guidance Youth should understand the importance of routine exercise, which helps them to burn calories, lose excess weight, and control glucose levels The United States Department of Health and Human Services recommends exercise of at least 30 to 60 min, most days of the week, for overweight patients Proper management of diet is one of the barriers for diabetic adolescent patients.

For example, adolescents struggle to stay away from standard adolescent favorites, including fast food, fries, and sweets. The study also reported that mother's involvement in maintaining a healthy diet showed positive results in term of diabetes control and stress levels Adaptation of healthy lifestyle behavior may have a significant effect on the diabetes status of a patient.

The implementation of healthy lifestyle behavior among adolescent patients means better mental health and good glycemic status 36 , Self-care support can be described as a group of people, including health-care professionals, family and friends, providing an individual with practical or emotional support To encourage patients to perform self-care activities, it is necessary to manage diabetes and to adapt to this devastating situation There is a paucity of studies investigating the impact of social involvement and self-care management of diabetes in young people with T2DM.

A study demonstrated that young people with diabetes encounter the same formative directions as healthy adolescents in physical, enthusiastic, social, and behavioral development, and thus family and peer group acceptance and support might be imperative for disease management 40 — The capacity of young people with T2DM to deal with their condition is affected by a scope of elements together with social, natural, and individual factors It is recommended that lifestyle modification for the management of T2DM in adolescents should be guided and monitored by family members, as better clinical outcomes can be achieved among those youths who involve both parents and themselves in diabetes management Studies by La Greca et al.

are among the earliest to indicate that overemphasis on urging youngsters to accomplish freedom in diabetes self-care may lead to worse clinical outcomes. Hence, utilizing a child's age alone as a manual to determine suitable self-care autonomy should be discouraged 44 , An adolescent can face lots of difficulties in learning new things as their behavior following the diagnosis of diabetes may change remarkably.

During this stage, parental support and involvement are vital. Also, these young people normally expect full support from their family Psychological control harms children as it interrupts their self intellectual development; while, behavioral control benefits children because it gives them desirable guidance, without essentially inhibiting their individuation 47 , Two studies demonstrated that regular monitoring and continued support from parents are essential, whereas the irregular involvement of parents in adolescent diabetes care can result in poor outcomes for diabetes management 49 , Research has demonstrated that rebellious approaches to cope with diabetes are harder and associated with inferior psychosocial adjustment, and it may be that these adolescents have already negotiated a level of attachment that is comfortable for them, so family involvement does not interfere with their quality of life It is perceived that social support from family and friends can decrease the stress that young people with T2DM encounter.

Peer and parental support can indeed encourage young people with T2DM to perform self-care practices and alteration, adapt to a diabetes diagnosis, and engage in self-care practices. A study involving 74 adolescent diabetes patients was carried out to assess the support that adolescent patients received from their friends during treatment.

The impact of support from friends was not significant in the prolonged treatment but had a great impact on the adherence with blood-glucose monitoring A similar study was conducted to assess and analyze the effect of the support given by the family and companions for youngsters in diabetes care.

The study concluded that families pay more attention than friends in three different types of support insulin infusions, blood-glucose checking, and meals.

However, in an emotional affair, adolescents get more support from friends rather than family The adolescent may not always feel comfortable discussing their disease with everyone.

Healthcare professionals could play an important role in supporting them to make friendly confessions about their condition with those close to them. Healthcare professionals could help young people in figuring out a way to discuss their disease management or ask their peers about the ideal approaches to assist them in managing their disease Moreover, this review highlights that the collaborative care is an important criterion of self-management for adolescent diabetes patients.

If all the supportive groups play their role, then it is easy for adolescents to manage their diabetes properly. The term self-management is frequently baffling as there is no generally acknowledged definition, and it is utilized to convey different ideas, for example, the guidance of self-care and self-management, patient activities, and self-management education Self-management education enhances control of T2DM, particularly when conveyed as short intercessions, enabling the patient to recollect and have a better blend of information The conventional educational forms of care that include instructing patients to enhance the awareness of health status provide a path to the present forms that focus on the behavioral and self-care advances aim to equip patients with the attitudes and strategies to advance and alter their behavior Self-management education is a community-oriented and continuing process expected to encourage the advancement of behaviors, knowledge, and abilities that are required for fruitful self-management of diabetes A multidisciplinary team is essential for the education program which involves educational supporters from hospitals and clinics, and the direct involvement of healthcare professionals.

The process of the education program ought to comply with the standards and terms stated by the National Standards for Diabetes Self-management Education, which aims to support and assist diabetes educatiors in providing good quality education and self-management support The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has recognized that Diabetes Self-Management Education DSME remains as a crucial feature of care for diabetes people.

In addition, DSME serves as an avenue for acquisition of knowledge, skills, abilities, and collaboration with other people, which are essential for engaging self-management of diabetes DSME programs help individuals to adapt to the psychological and physical needs of the disease, specifically the remarkable financial, social, and cultural conditions.

The principal objective of DSME is to enable patients to take control of their own condition by enhancing their insight and attitudes, so that, they can make knowledgeable decisions for self-guided behavior, changing their regular lives and eventually moderating the danger of complications Definite metabolic control and quality of life as well as the avoidance of complications are the ultimate aims specified by diabetes self-management education Knowledge of and information about the successful management and treatment of adult diabetes patients allow adjustments to be made in youth's management of diabetes.

The treatment and management guidance of adult patients needs to be translated and adapted by child patients. Though these guidance are easily translatable to older adolescents, physicians are often hesitant regarding how to treat and manage young children and adolescents with T2DM Through knowledge and education, individuals with DM can figure out how to make life decisions, and can discuss more with their clinicians to accomplish ideal glycemic control A study examined the impacts of a self-care education program on T2DM patients demonstrated that the program leads to an improvement in state of mind and behavior, and fewer complexities, and thus leads to an improved mental and physical quality of life.

Several authors have discussed that diabetes self-management education is provided to control the disease including monitoring of emergencies such as hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Indeed, several studies found that diabetes self-management education improves HbA 1C and patient compliance 63 , A diabetes education program is vital in glycemic control, as psychological support brings better clinical outcomes and emotional improvement, and controls the hazard of continuing complications 64 — Among the primary barriers of managing youth and children with T2DM are inadequate scientific support about treatment, patient adherence, and deficiency in knowledge about recent recommendations 67 , Consequently, various ways have been recommended for self-management of diabetes mellitus among adolescents.

These provide a coherent picture of daily activities and care that adolescent patients with T2DM adapt effectively To accomplish this goal, further interventional work is required to positively establish the most efficient management alternative in this population.

The previously published studies in this setting are summarized in Table 2. Table 2. Studies of self-care and self-management of adolescent patients with diabetes. Further research is essential to get a more reliable conclusion concerning the appropriate self-care practices and self-management of adolescent patients with T2DM.

Most studies were conducted on self-care practices and self-management in adult patients with T2DM. There is a number of quality studies of self-care practices with type 1 adolescent patients, but only a small number have included type 2 adolescent patients.

Nevertheless, adult diabetes management approaches are successful for imparting knowledge and understanding, and are adaptable for adolescents Although the management process of adolescents is almost same as the adults, healthcare providers are usually uncertain about how to guide and develop the knowledge and understanding of the most appropriate methods for proper management guideline for adolescents with T2DM.

There are very limited experimental trials, and most of the treatment and management recommendations are referred from adults; therefore, the current guidelines for management for adolescents with T2DM may not be fully evidence-based. Successful outcomes have been noticed for both Type 1 and T2DM in youth and adolescent patients through a supportive team.

Given the recognized importance of social support in encouraging diabetes self-care behaviors, family and care-givers could lessen the burden of T2DM by providing extra attention to the patients' need 41 , Research highlights the necessities of self-care and self-management for those who have a delayed determination of diabetes, a period where intercessions can lead the most significant advantages for long-term education opportunities and management.

Early concerns and active management are imperative for drafting management plans that inclusive of self-management education, dietary follow up, physical activity and behavior alteration to optimize blood glucose and diminish diabetes-related complications.

The review of the issue is still relatively limited until more studies on this area have been conducted. Diabetes is a complicated illness that requires individual patient to adhere to various recommendations in making day-to-day choices in regard to diet, physical movement, and medications.

It additionally requires the personal capability of diverse self-management abilities. There is an enormous need for committed self-care practices in various spaces, with nutritional choices, physical activity, legitimate medication, and blood glucose monitoring by the patients.

A positive and encouraging self-care exercise commitment for diabetic patient can be emanated from good social support. Parental support in disease management leads to an effective change in patients' glycaemic control.

Nevertheless, the majority of adolescent patients with T2DM are associated to families with sedentary daily routines, high-fat diets, and poor food habits who often have a family history of diabetes.

This is likely to be disadvantageous to the management of diabetes in adolescents. The responsibility of clinicians in advancing self-care is imperative and ought to be highlighted.

To prevent any long-term complications, it is important to recognize the comprehensive nature of the issue. An orderly, multi-faceted and coordinated progress must be involved to advance self-care practices.

CN, LM, YW, and MS designed and directed the study. They were involved in the planning and supervised the study. JE, YK, CN, LM, YW, MH, YH and MS were involved in the interpretation of the data, as well as provided critical intellectual content in the manuscript.

JE contributed to writing the manuscript and updated and revised the manuscript to the final version with the assistance of other authors.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. This work was supported in part by Universiti Teknologi MARA UiTM under MyRA Incentive Grant.

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