What causes blood sugar to drop fast?

Blood sugar is a strange and mysterious beast, much like the Australian platypus. There are times when blood glucose levels can drop faster than Kanye West changes his Twitter handle. In this article, we take an in-depth look into what causes these rapid drops in blood sugar levels.

What is Blood Sugar?

Before delving into the various reasons behind sudden dips in blood sugar levels, let’s first establish what ‘blood sugar’ means. “Blood sugar,” also known as glucose, refers to the amount of glucose present in your bloodstream at any given time.

Glucose acts as fuel for your body- just like how coffee fuels you every morning (assuming that bitter black liquid does anything positive for you). Glucose helps keep our organs running smoothly while maintaining healthy brain function.

Your main source of glucose comes from the carbs found in foods such as fruits or cereals – yum! However, other bodily functions can contribute additional amounts to your system.

Hypoglycemia – A Tale of Low Blood Sugars

Hypoglycemia occurs when there’s too little glucose present within someone’s bloodstream; severe cases could result from having <54mg/dL (3mmol/L) circulating through their veins.

Without enough fueling circulating around inside people become tired or weak and begin feeling irritable which unless you’re acting on some reality TV show isn’t always preferable hint hint. One peculiar characteristic that those experiencing hypoglycemia share is shaky hands – imagine holding paintbrushes after drinking 30 caffeine pills with a couple shots & seeing random small objects resembling rectangles shaking all over place akin to an earthquake tremble more petite than Galileo gauged centuries ago!

Luckily not everything matches up perfectly because eating food usually helps boost low-blood-sugar sufferers thanks to enlisting help from instant-on-carbohydrates such as sugary drinks or desserts. As we consume those foods our insulin rises and glucose bumps up accordingly.

Mystery #1: Skipping Meals

What’s the best thing to do when fighting hyenas? Run away! What’s the worst thing to do? Skip a meal because I guess that means you won’t be running fast for long!

Skipping meals is one reason that can cause a quick dip in blood sugar levels. Similar to how guns need bullets, your body – particularly organs & tissues- require fuel derived from calories contained within food aka meals which impact whether it needs more production of insulin (that’s synthesized in beta cells throughout a structure like human pancreas) or not.

We know that diabetics typically have problems controlling their own sugars but what about everyone else Reading™ their daily news blurb (isn’t it just so fitting here)? Yeah some might be surprised to learn they too can experience crashes brought on by missing important frames i.e.,meals sadly enough). Those who miss out on breakfast-to-dinner nutrition create ongoing risks and often land themselves with headaches, weakness/trembling sensations especially if their active lifestyle doesn’t balance poorly-timed eating habits.

Time without food	Expected blood sugar drop
4 hours	~60% drop
8 hours	up to 100% drop

Note: Being inactive both physically and mentally could exacerbate the negative effects associated with skipping meals causing someone frequent lightheadedness, weakness/hunger “pains,” & heart palpitations amongst other signs of anguish.

Mysterious Cause #2: Heavy Exercise Routines

A scientific phenomenon known as reactive hypoglycemia appears chiefly among individuals expending tremendous amounts of calories, such as athletes or extreme sports practitioners.

In a nutshell, after someone spends time exercising intensely their blood-garbage-level will often drop quickly shortly thereafter. This occurs because exercise depletes muscle and liver glycogen stores that are primarily needed to keep maintaining blood glucose levels throughout our day-to-day hustle’n’ bustle.

But does ^ all work completely? Our body typically compensates by releasing more hormones in response which could stunt prolonged dips, but it’s not always guaranteed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5121704/pdf/41598_2016_Article_361.pdf)!

So when sweaty gym rats complain about dipping sugars while they sacrifice vital nutrients during “leg-day” sessions – give them a break! They really should consider how much bodily energy is being exhausted at each flexion point we sweat enough just walking outside nowadays so imagine running on the treadmill for half an hour then doing 20 push-ups right after…now take another deep breath and re-think those complaints you had awhile ago of your workplace coffee machine constantly breaking down again hehe.

• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Rapid heartbeat
• Sweating

Mysterious Cause #3: Certain Medications Can Also Play a Role

While medications are designed to treat specific conditions usually without negative effects sometimes there can be less-than-efficient accompanying casualties. Currently, certain diabetes and blood pressure meds have features known as ‘hypoglycemic agents’ meaning they lower sugar levels within the bloodstream usually indicated amongst diabetic population taking insulin therapy.

Although prescriptions containing this kind of agents ideally help regulate one’s glucose carefully & systematically abrupt cessation may present unexpected hiccups around finding balanced footing regarding precise dosage/timing mechanisms etcetera resulting abnormally from hypo-adverse side-effects like over-dosing themselves inadvertently or suddenly stopping use within medication treatments schedules. So, its best to always seek guidance from your trusted doctor concerning the safe dosing regimen of those hypoglycemic mediations whenever you encounter any doubt or trouble during usage.

Mysterious Cause #4: Alcohol Consumption

For a grand finale nobody saw coming (or who did and they’re just sitting there like Captain Obvious), alcohol consumption is another cause that could contribute to drops in blood sugar levels especially if one has already taken insulin doses before drinking – bless the hearts of diabetics because it’s snack time again! Alcohol metabolizing often interferes with blood glucose regulation due to several factors such as liver glycogen depletion & slower elimination mechanisms that may result in further imbalances complicating rapid/confusing symptoms amongst other risks involved.

• Inability to regulate body temperature
• Difficulty maintaining balance and coordination
• Slurred speech
• Impaired judgement

To Sum It Up

Blood sugars can dip quickly for various reasons. However, by making sure we eat healthy meals at regular intervals throughout our day, taking care when exercising intensely, checking medications compliance – including diabetes pills containing hypoglycemic agents alongside exercise-intensity metrics which are rather complex variables themselves). Lastly It’s also helpful not having vast number alcoholic drinks without snacking between sips all-star health goals will be worth achieving every single day despite sometimes undulating roller coaster ride dismaying lows thankfully accompanied by enjoyable highs!