It is said that the better you understand something—causes and effects, opportunities and limits—the easier it is for you to change things to suit your specific needs. Living with diabetes is no different.

The more you know about the effect your blood sugar levels have on your body and how your daily diet, exercise and other factors can influence this, the easier it will be to adapt to changes in your day. This can be especially helpful if your job requires you to work long hours or travel often, you have young children or if your day-to-day routine is always changing.

Checking your blood sugar, especially if you are stressed or on a changing schedule, can be a reliable way to ensure you are staying on track. It is better to know if you need to take action, like taking a walk or eating a snack, before you experience a high or low blood sugar result.

Keeping accurate blood sugar results and watching for patterns may help you predict how travel, exercise, the lack of sleep and eating meals away from home will affect you. Do whatever works for you- you may consider using a diabetes app or a printed logbook to help you track your blood sugar results.

Developing a good relationship with your healthcare team by talking through your day with diabetes can help you become an expert in your own diabetes. You can put that expertise to work for you every day, making sure that you feel good whether your schedule is hectic or quiet and relaxed.