6 Gentle Exercises Proven to Lower Blood Sugar Levels After Meals

Key Takeaways

• Four 1-minute bursts of exercise per day, like marching in place, can help lower blood sugar after meals for people with type 2 diabetes.
• A 10-minute walk immediately after eating lowers blood sugar more effectively than a longer walk taken later.
• For those who want gentler exercises, options like the soleus push-up can be performed while sitting.

A quick sweat sesh—even a low-key one—after eating a meal could lower your blood sugar, especially for people with diabetes. Exercising prompts your muscles to pick up more sugar from your bloodstream.¹

Try the following mild exercises to help lower blood sugar after your next meal.

1. Marching in Place

A recent study found that four 1-minute bursts of exercise per day, including a minute of marching in place, helped people with type 2 diabetes control blood sugar levels, especially after meals.²

How to perform marching in place:

• Stand with your feet about hip-width apart.
• Lift one knee to 90 degrees, bend your opposite arm, and place it back down.
• Lift your other knee to 90 degrees, bend the opposite arm, and place it back down.
• Repeat in a continuous, stationary marching motion for 20 repetitions or more.

Use a chair or a wall for balance support, as needed.

2. Stair Step Ups

Stair step-ups were another exercise used in the same study.² Participants who performed stair step-ups (alongside other exercises, in four one-minute bursts) experienced small but significant reductions in blood sugar after meals.

How to perform stair step-ups:

• Stand in front of the first step at the bottom of a flight of stairs, or use an exercise step.
• Place your right foot fully onto the step.
• Lift your left knee to 90 degrees or hip height, with your left foot elevated over the step.
• Place your left foot back on the ground.
• Place your right foot back on the ground, returning to your starting position.
• Repeat 20 times on the right, and 20 times on the left.
• Use a banister or wall for support as needed.

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3. Bodyweight Squats

You can do bodyweight squats just about anywhere, and like the previous two exercises, they were also included in the study on exercise bursts and blood sugar.² A minute (or more) of squats after your next meal may help lower your blood sugar.

How to perform bodyweight squats:³

• Stand with your hips slightly wider than hip width apart, with your toes turned slightly outward.
• Clasp your hands at your chest or extend them out in front of you.
• Bend your hips and knees simultaneously, and shift your weight back.
• Lower your hips until your thighs are nearly parallel to the floor, your bottom is shifted back, and your knees are in line with your toes.
• Rise back into standing.
• Repeat for three sets of 10 repetitions.

4. Soleus Push-Up

Don’t worry if you have trouble with weight-bearing or want an even gentler exercise. There are still exercises you can do to effectively lower blood pressure after eating.

The soleus push-up can be performed from a sitting position, and a recent study found that performing it immediately after eating may lower post-meal blood sugar by 39-52%.⁴

How to perform soleus push-ups:⁵

• Sit upright in a chair with your feet flat on the floor.
• Press into the balls of your feet and lift your heels off the floor.
• Lower your heels back to the floor and return to the starting position.
• Repeat for 60 seconds or longer.

5. Walking

Heading out for a short walk after eating could help lower your blood sugar. One study found that taking a gentle walk (at a comfortable pace) shortly after eating significantly lowered post-meal blood sugar, compared to not walking.⁶

The timing of the walk matters more than the walk’s duration. In the study, a 10-minute walk immediately after eating lowered blood sugar more significantly than a 30-minute walk 30 minutes after eating did.⁶

6. Housework or Other Types of Light Exercise

You don’t need to limit yourself to the exercises above. There’s a large body of research that shows many types of light aerobic exercise, when started within 30 minutes of finishing a meal, can help reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes.⁷

Some examples of light aerobic exercise include:

• Vacuuming
• Cleaning
• Emptying or loading the dishwasher
• Gardening
• Bicycling
• Tennis
• Dancing

DATE . 26/Sep/2026