Could Your Desk Setup Be Affecting Your Blood Sugar?

Sun Catcher: If you’re working to stabilize your blood sugar, your office environment (and how much natural light it provides) may play a role.

How to Do It: If you can, set up shop near a window that catches morning and midday light. If that’s just not feasible, a short outdoor walk in the morning or at lunch counts too. But this works best when paired with bigger blood sugar controls — a balanced diet of whole foods and regular exercise.

The Evidence Behind The Habit: A small study published in Cell Metabolism tracked 13 adults with type 2 diabetes through two separate 4.5-day sessions in a controlled office. In one, participants worked next to large windows that let in natural daylight from morning to afternoon. In the other, the windows were blocked and only standard artificial light was used. In daylight, participants spent 7.6 percentage points more time in their target glucose range, with fewer spikes and drops. They also burned more fat for fuel, and the genes governing their cellular clocks looked better synced to the time of day.