How to Eat on the Night Shift
In the middle of the night, almost everyone is tucked in bed, resting up for the next day's activities. The night shift worker, on the other hand, is working. They are adjusting their entire life in order to work a shift that is not natural to the human body. Irritability, drowsiness, intestinal problems and weight gain or loss are all problems faced by night shift workers. Adjusting your lifestyle to manage night shift work will pay dividends to your overall health and happiness.
Instructions
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Maintain a healthy diet. A diet balanced of carbohydrates, protein, and omega-3 fats (found in walnuts and coldwater fish such as herring) will assist in maintaining energy throughout the night.
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Avoid spicy and high-fat foods at night. At night, the body's digestive system slows down and does not easily digest heavy foods. Adjusting your eating habits will increase energy levels.
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Be conscious of calorie intake. Third shift forces you to eat meals at odd times, and extra meals are eaten because of family meals in the morning or at dinnertime. Third-shift workers are often awake for longer periods of time than people who work a traditional shift. If you know that you will be awake for a long period of time, eat smaller calorie meals to space your caloric intake out throughout the day.
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Prepare snacks at home to bring to work. Yogurt, fruit and fresh vegetables will help you avoid readily available vending machine snacks that are high in fat and calories. Space snacks out between each meal so your blood's natural sugar level does not dive between meals.
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Adjust your eating pattern to your working hours. Eat when you wake up and space out meals as if on a day shift schedule.
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Limit caffeine intake. Drinking to much coffee, pop or other caffeinated beverages will affect your ability to sleep. Netty Levine, a registered dietitian at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles suggests not drinking caffeine 5 hours before you plan to go to sleep.
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