Welcome to my blog! I’m glad you are here. We are finally transitioning to the health and wellness coaching of shift workers and you will be seeing a lot of blog posts on this subject. You will be seeing shift work diets, exercises, health effects, meditations, positivity tips and tricks, as well as anything in between to help keep our shift workers healthy. Shift work is not easy and as some of you who follow me on a regular basis would know I have been doing shift work for almost 16 years now. It’s very hard on your body, your family, sleep, diet, and exercise routines. But I’m helping people overcome these obstacles and live a happier, healthier life while doing shift work. For many of you who do not do shift work, this information could apply to you as well. It’s all about perspective and how you use the information to adapt to your schedule and lifestyle.
Short-Term Effects
According to research, the short-term health effects of shift work are clear. These include such things as gastrointestinal symptoms like upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and heart burn. You will also have an increased risk of accidents and injuries, insomnia, and an overall feeling of being unwell. Most of these symptoms go without being noticed or associated with shift work, however they are symptoms that need to be addressed. Most people think of it as something they ate and carry on with their work, but it could end up a serious matter if left untreated. That is when the effects become long-term.
Long-Term Effects
The long-term effects of shift work, according to research, are a little more difficult to measure. Nonetheless researchers have noticed a connection between shift work and an increased risk of serious health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart disease, heart attacks, obesity, and stroke just to name a few. Also, according to Dr. Eric Berg DC, women’s risk of developing breast cancer goes up by 48%! Risk of diabetes goes up by 36%, it shortens women’s life span by 5%, if you have worked shift work over 15 years your risk of a heart attack goes up 38%. Also, night shift work is classified now as a probable carcinogen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KCL9ciNzzM&t=60s
One 2007 study found that night shift workers also suffered from depression and other mood disorders because of the social isolation that affects your brain chemistry like serotonin. In addition to personal health effects, problems with fertility were also affected by shift work. Research has shown that shift work affects a women’s reproductive system, and that particular study was on flight attendants who worked during pregnancy were twice as likely to have a miscarriage. Shift work also was associated with premature deliveries, complications at birth, and irregular periods.
Diet Suggestions
So, I know diet is something a lot of people struggle with. It’s not just shift workers or targets a certain group of people. It is a struggle for a lot of people in any industry working any shift. So, this information or suggestion, could be for anyone. For starters, when you work the night shift for example, your circadian rhythms have not adjusted to being active at night. Your digestive system is preparing to rest and not for eating. Because of this you experience gastrointestinal symptoms, and you increase your risk of obesity, and diabetes, etc.
My recommendation is, during the night shift eat high-quality foods such as vegetable, salads, vegetable soups, fruits, yogurt, eggs, cheese, and green tea. Try to eat with your coworkers in a pleasant environment to get that social interaction and away from work. Avoid sugar foods, sugar drinks, and soda! These will increase sleepiness and you will have that sugar crash and feel worse. Avoid fatty foods and stay away from energy drinks! Think about it, if you have to drink and energy drink or Red Bull, 5 Hour energy shot while at work to get through your shift, there is a problem! That is when you know you need help to get more energy, sleep, and mindset on your off days. To keep it in perspective, I have never had any of these energy drinks to keep me going during a shift in 16 years!!
Sleep Suggestions
These suggestions are what I try to do and have worked very well so far for me, so to start off with try to go directly to bed when you arrive home. If you have not eaten that much for several hours, eat a small meal (including a protein and a carbohydrate) before going to bed. If your circadian rhythms have not adjusted to sleeping during the daytime, there is only a small window of time before your natural circadian alerting mechanism will kick in and try to keep you awake. This is a very critical time for night shift workers. The more sleep you get before 2 p.m., the better rested you will be. Do not use your early morning time to do chores or errands, because this is prime sleep time for night shifters.
Sleep as long as possible if you can. It has been proven that night shift workers usually get less sleep overall than day shift workers, and poorer-quality sleep, so spend as much time in bed as possible to prevent yourself from becoming chronically sleep deprived.
If it is possible to take a nap before returning to work, then do so because this can increase your overall sleep time and may help you to stay alert during the night.
Some bedroom suggestions that I try to do and have been doing is block all light from coming in the windows in the bedroom and bathroom and the path between the bedroom and bathroom – you can install blackout shades and/or drapes. Block noises with ear plugs or a machine that creates white noise. Prevent the phone from awakening you also. I had to put my phone on vibrate in another room across the house so it would not wake me.
I hope these suggestions and ideas help you with your shift schedule and to find some other ways to help. Keep coming back for more tips and recommendations on shift work. I help people with shift work to gain energy, eat better, feel more alert, and have a different mindset, so if you need help, please don’t tackle this alone. E-mail me and we can talk about your options and how I can help.
Take care and until next time,
You only get one body………Make the change!
Darren
Harmony Shift 