Working night shifts can be tough. That’s the reason, LA wrongful termination lawyers Omid Nostrati say, some malicious employers use the night shift as a way to get back at employees they’re trying to force into quitting.
For those working the graveyard shift by choice, however, you’ll need to do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle so that you can hold onto your well-being. Here’s a bit of info about the dangers of night shift, along with a few tips that should help you keep yourself in the proper shape while working one.
The Dangers Of Night Shift
If you’ve ever wondered why working nights can be such a drag on your body, you can blame human biology for that. Specifically, humans are diurnal creatures that are supposed to be active during the daytime. When we flip that around, staying awake late into the night, we can wreak all sorts of havoc to our systems.
Working the night shift will throw your metabolism and other systems for a loop, making you more likely to gain weight, more prone to digestive problems, at greater risk for stress and strain on your internal organs, and, overall, just miserable because you aren’t sleeping like you’re supposed to.
Counteracting The Effects Of The Night Shift
So, with that in mind, how can you combat the ill effects of night shift work? It’s all about control and adaptation. First off, you’ll want to watch your nutrition.
When working night shift, you might have a tendency to overeat and you’re more likely to start gaining weight. To balance this, you should start planning your diet, cutting out snacks, and sticking to three meals a day. Avoid eating before bed, but still try to schedule your meals so that you don’t wake up too hungry.
What you eat will be just as important as when you eat when you’re working the night shift. You should avoid sugar to the greatest degree possible, which means cutting out white breads, candy, soft drinks, and other sugar-rich products because they will cause rapid weight gain. Instead, replace sugary foods with lean proteins and vegetables, while drinking more water.
In addition to your diet, you can improve your health on the night shift with a regular exercise routine and consistent sleep schedule — just as you would if you were working during the daytime. Combined, these factors will help you combat the ill health effects of working nights, and should you maintain these habits once you’re back on the day shift, you’ll find yourself all the better for it.