What If Your Morning Routine is Driving Insulin Resistance?

Your CGM looks calm all night… then you wake up and your glucose climbs anyway. That’s the dawn phenomenon at work, and it can be maddening when you’re doing keto, low-carb, intermittent fasting, or anything aimed at reversing insulin resistance. We dig into the early-morning hormone surge behind it, especially cortisol, and why modern routines can accidentally turn a normal wake-up signal into an all-morning blood sugar climb.

We get practical fast. Stephen shares the exact morning protocol he’s been running for weeks while tracking his results with a continuous glucose monitor: outdoor sunlight in the eyes for 10 to 15 minutes (not through glass), water early with electrolytes, no phone like it’s made of molten rock, and gentle movement you can comfortably talk through. When stress still feels high, he adds quick box breathing to help flip from sympathetic “fight or flight” to parasympathetic “rest and digest.” Graham adds his own version with longer walks, homemade electrolytes, and a few sleep-focused experiments that reduce those weird 3 a.m. wakeups.

Along the way, we connect the dots between circadian rhythm, caffeine timing, dehydration, morning brain fog, and why glucose spikes and crashes can drive cravings and fatigue. If you’re trying to stabilise blood sugar, improve metabolic health, and feel better day to day, this conversation offers a simple routine you can test tomorrow morning with real feedback from your body.

Subscribe, share the episode with someone who’s chasing steadier mornings, and leave a review telling us what your glucose and energy looked like after you tried it.

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