7 Great Ways to Improve Blood Circulation

When you’re living with type 2 diabetes, poor circulation can be a genuine concern. If you don’t keep the blood flowing well throughout your body, there may be serious consequences such as chronic pain in your extremities and irreversible nerve damage. It’s also not uncommon for doctors to recommend amputations for those whose poor circulation has caused significant issues.

Why Diabetes Affects Your Blood Circulation

As you may already know, the key to managing your diabetes is controlling your blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy and some people struggle with it more than others. If your blood sugar level is consistently higher than normal, it can damage blood vessel linings and impede blood flow throughout your body.

Additionally, diabetes can increase your risk of developing peripheral arterial disease (PAD). In this condition, the arteries in your legs, feet, and arms can become abnormally narrow. Some of the symptoms of PAD include pain in your legs when walking, no or weak pulse in your legs, muscle cramps in your calves, and pain in your arms when you’ve used them extensively.

7 Effective Ways to Improve Circulation

1. Get Regular Exercise

Research shows that exercising regularly can do wonders for improving your circulation. The idea is to focus on activities that increase your heart rate so you should try jogging, brisk walks, swimming, or cycling. Doctors recommend focusing on anything that keeps your hands, feet, ankles, and toes in motion since those are the areas that are most likely to be affected by poor circulation. The usual advice is to exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes per day but a recent study suggested that the frequency of exercise has more of an impact than the duration. In this case, you reap better benefits by moving around for three minutes every 30 minutes.

2. Manage Your Cholesterol Levels

Diabetes isn’t the only condition that can affect your blood vessels. If you have high cholesterol, it can cause your arteries to harden and block your blood flow. To get in front of that, talk to your doctor about checking your cholesterol levels regularly to see if they’re in the normal range. If they’re normal, you should still ask about how to keep them that way. For people who have high cholesterol levels, sticking to healthy fats is a great place to start to lower them. Sometimes, your doctor may need to prescribe medication to keep it under control.

3. Keep Your Blood Sugar Level Within Normal Range

As noted above, high blood sugar levels can contribute to poor circulation so it’s imperative to keep them within the normal range. Since you should test your blood sugar daily, it’s a good idea to know what your numbers are supposed to be. You should always take your insulin and any other medications your doctor has prescribed to manage your diabetes.

4. Consider Diabetic Compression Socks

Many doctors suggest that persons who are living with diabetes can benefit from wearing compression socks. These socks apply gentle pressure that can help to keep your veins in proper working order. When you wear them, you can easily increase blood flow to your legs and feet. They can also reduce any swelling and help prevent the formation of blood clots.

5. Stick to Your Medical Regimen

If you have any other chronic conditions, it’s important to take your medication for those as well. Sometimes, uncontrolled illnesses can have a cascading effect on your health. For example, poorly controlled high blood pressure can also affect your blood sugar levels.

6. Try A Heart-Healthy Diet

According to recent studies, adopting a heart-healthy diet can also improve your circulation. To do this, it’s a good idea to eat more foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids like salmon and flax seeds. Iron-rich foods like spinach and red meat can also help but you should ask your doctor how much iron is right for you. Finally, high-fiber foods like apples, berries, whole grains, legumes, and oatmeal can keep your cholesterol low – which keeps your arteries from hardening.

7. Stay Away From Cigarettes

Studies show that smoking can negatively affect your circulation. These effects can result in restrictions in your circulatory system that cause poor blood flow. Fortunately, you can reduce this risk by avoiding cigarettes or quitting if you’re currently smoking. Quitting isn’t an easy venture for most smokers, though, so it’s best to talk to your doctor about your options. While some people can accomplish it with the use of apps, nicotine gum, and nicotine patches, others need medications to complete the process.

Signs You Have Poor Circulation

While you shouldn’t wait for signs of poor circulation to start working on it, knowing what to look for can help you gauge where you are. These signs can also be useful for your doctor when assessing how well your medical regimen is working to control your diabetes.

You may not always notice the signs of having poor circulation but a few issues it can cause include brittle nails, skin discoloration, chronic fatigue, erectile dysfunction, varicose veins, wounds that are slow to heal, as well as cold hands and feet. You may also lose hair on your legs or feet, have dry or cracked skin on your feet, develop ulcers on your feet, and tingling or numbness in your hands or feet.

If you’re experiencing these symptoms, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about doing a full check-up. Taking steps to improve your circulation can make a difference but that doesn’t mean you should leave your doctor out of the loop. They can start taking other steps to ensure that the condition doesn’t worsen.

You have to monitor many aspects of your health when you have type 2 diabetes and your circulation is one of them. It’s easy to improve blood circulation if you implement the tips that are detailed here but that doesn’t mean you should tackle it on your own. You should always let your doctor know if you’re having any of the signs of poor circulation so they can help.

By Karen Heslop | Published April 9, 2025