Why Is My Blood Sugar High in the Morning? How to Stop the Dawn Phenomenon for Good

The "dawn phenomenon" is one of the most frequently mentioned, confusing, and frustrating topics across all analyzed comment sections. Viewers who are diligently fasting, cutting carbs, and doing everything "right" wake up, test their blood sugar, and see a high number—sometimes alarmingly high. It feels like a failing grade from their body, a sign that their efforts are not only futile but possibly making things worse. This counterintuitive experience leads to significant anxiety and is a major reason people give up on protocols that are otherwise working. They are desperate for an explanation that makes sense of this baffling metabolic paradox.

The core concern is that a high morning blood sugar reading invalidates all their hard work. Viewers worry that they are somehow still insulin resistant or that fasting is actively harming them. For those on medication, a reading of 300-400 mg/dL is terrifying and leads to confusion about whether to take more insulin, which feels counterproductive to the goal of lowering insulin overall. The phenomenon creates a frustrating cycle: they feel great and are losing weight, but the number on the glucose meter tells a story of failure, causing them to question the entire process.

The most crucial insight from the creators is a radical reframing of the high number. High morning blood sugar is not new sugar coming in; it's old, stored sugar coming out. Your liver, overfilled from years of excess carbohydrates, is finally getting the signal (due to low insulin from fasting) to release its stored glucose to be burned for energy. This temporary rise is a necessary part of "draining the swamp" and a sign that the fasting protocol is working exactly as it should.

This is a key topic where different creators offer unique physiological explanations and practical advice.

• Dr. Jason Fung: He provides the most comprehensive and reassuring explanation. He frames the dawn phenomenon as a completely normal physiological process that happens in everybody due to a morning surge of counter-regulatory hormones (like cortisol and growth hormone) that prepare the body for the day. In people with Type 2 diabetes or significant insulin resistance, this effect is exaggerated because their "refrigerator" (the liver) is overstuffed with stored sugar (glycogen) and releases a lot of it at once. He emphatically states that this is not a sign of failure but a sign of progress, as it shows your body is finally getting a chance to use up the stored glucose. His advice is to continue fasting to allow this process to complete.
• Dr. Eric Berg DC: He approaches the dawn phenomenon as an indicator of incomplete adaptation. He lists "no dawn phenomena" as the fifth sign that insulin resistance is improving. He describes it as something that happens when you're in the "transition phase of adapting to ketosis" and confirms that "it will go away over time" as your insulin resistance gets better. This frames it less as a normal process and more as a temporary symptom that will resolve as you become more metabolically healthy.
• Dr. Boz [Annette Bosworth, MD]: She also explains the morning glucose bump as a natural result of our circadian rhythm being signaled by sunrise. However, her practical advice is unique. She argues that since this morning insulin rise is inevitable, insulin-resistant patients find "great success" by working with it. She advises them to shift their eating window as close to sunrise as possible and to avoid eating after sunset, which keeps insulin from staying high all night. This contrasts with the approach of many others who would recommend prolonging the morning fast.

Before bed, ensure your last meal was low in carbohydrates and consumed at least three hours prior. This gives your insulin levels a head start in dropping overnight, potentially lessening the intensity of the liver's glucose release in the morning.

• Mistake: Panicking and eating a carbohydrate-heavy breakfast to "bring the number down."
  Fix: Do not add more glucose to the system. The high reading is from glucose already in your body. Drink water, maybe have some black coffee, and allow your body to use that fuel. Eating will only pause the fat-burning process.
• Mistake: Stopping your fasting protocol because you think it's causing high blood sugar.
  Fix: Understand that fasting is the solution, not the cause. It is precisely the period of not eating that signals your liver to release the stored sugar. Continue the fast to allow this process to work.
• Mistake: Comparing your morning fasting number to your low numbers from the previous afternoon and getting discouraged.
  Fix: Track your waking blood sugar numbers over several weeks. You are looking for a gradual downward trend in the morning highs, not for them to be as low as your intra-day numbers immediately.

• • “I dont get hungry until 11, however my bs goes way up. If i eat it goes down. I dont what to do . I take insulin at night, but now instead of 170 in am its 370 in the morning.”
• • “What should my husband who is T2 do when his early morning BS rises between 300-400 in the morning? He takes insulin when that happens but how can he stop this from happening... He is carnivore for almost a year as well but still having this insulin resistance issue and he doesn’t know why?”
• • “I don’t understand why having no dawn phenomenon is a sign your insulin resistance is getting better? I thought everyone had dawn phenomenon...”
• • “My sister is a type 2 diabetic and takes no medication.. She has lost a lot of weight, kept the carbs low with a strict keto diet and Intermittent fasting. She feels good and has more energy but her fasting blood sugar is still 200. Why?”

Waking up to a high blood sugar reading when you haven't eaten anything for hours is one of the most confusing hurdles in reversing insulin resistance. However, it is not a sign of failure. It is a sign of your body actively healing itself by clearing out years of stored sugar from your liver. Understanding this process, as explained by creators like Dr. Jason Fung, is the key to having the patience and confidence to stay the course. Trust that continued fasting and carb restriction will eventually "drain the swamp," and your morning glucose meter will finally reflect your new, healthier metabolic reality.