Top diet tips for night shift workers !

Some of us like to be awake till late in the night, while you may be awake till late hours for watching TV, chatting with your friends or calling them, reading a book or just finishing extra work from office or school, There are a few of those who work In night shift and Take it up as their lifestyle.these top diet tips for night shift workers will save them from many health issue that they might be prone to.

While a lot of people would fascinate about  sleeping all day long and being awake at night, But this might actually stress out your system, specially if saturday and sunday is a holiday. Imagine, 5 days you tell your body that night time is for work , dont get sleepy .. and then suddenly comes saturday and sunday , when you would want to sleep in the night but the body does not undertsand why. Leading to health problems like :-

Insomnia and sleep disorders

Mouth and stomach ulcers

Increased stress leading to heart ailments

Increase in accidental rates

Increase in mental stress, fatigue and tiredness all the time

Some people succumb to cigarette smoking and alcoholism to cope up with the increasing stress and to remain awake through the night. They compromise on their health and a lot of  other things to adjust to this routine. Stress may lead to weight gain and early ageing signs on the face if you are not able to handle it well.  Night shift may affect a persons health, lifestyle and social relations as well.

I believe if you take certain measure towards health, all the other factors are in your control and you can manage them well. These tips for  night shift workers will prove to be useful in improving your over all health and correcting lifestyle.

Diet tips for night shift workers 

1] Dinner – Normally a person would end his day by eating dinner. But for  those on night shift,  The cycle starts with dinner.

- If your shift start from 7 pm on wards or later, You should not keep dinner for later in night at 10.00 pm or even more delayed . Rather have your dinner and  then leave for work.

- If your shift starts at 4.00 – 5.00 pm , then have your dinner at around 7.30 / 8 .00 pm. Dont keep it for later to reach home and then dine.

The most important tips for night shift workers is that Dinner timings are very crucial.  Many people avoid dinner before the shift to avoid feeling sleepy or heavy during work hours.

Eat   – lighter dinner items like  brown rice with veggies and dal , idlies with chutney / dosa / utappam / only phulka instead of oily chapatis / puri . with salads and veggies / vegetable daliya / vegetable khichadi. veggies are very important to avoid acidity.

Avoid  – Fatty food , fried foods like samosa , kachori, puris, Potato veg, and excessive sweets and desserts. avoid starchy foods. These will leave you heavy and bloated and sleepy, and a few hours later they would provoke more acid formation leading to acidity.

2. Hydration –  Many people take up to drinking countless cups of tea and coffee to remain awake and active through out the night. But this is another habit which will detriment your health. Hydration is very important, keep sipping some liquids every 30 -45 minutes and you will never feel sleepy , and add up to your  health.

Drink –  Nimbu paani / lemonade , coconut water , green tea and herbal teas , vegetable soups , Apple juice , carrot juice , beetroot juice and buttermilk. flavored milk is also a good option.

 Avoid - tea and coffee in excess. 1/2 cup once or twice is still ok , but not more than that.  specially if you have not had a proper meal that day. it may lead to acidity, insomnia , and restlessness.  avoid too much of aerated beverages and cold drink.

3] Snacking at night – when hungry at night, keep some roasted nuts like almonds , soyabean , pumpkin seeds , flax seeds and peanuts handy. these are healthy snacks , will not lead to weight gain and will avoid overeating. roasted channa is another healthy option. you can also keep some murmura / kadlepuri / puffed rice handy and have a bit when hungry.

If you are very hungry , choose poha and upama from the canteen over choosing pizza and burgers or wada pav.

4] Antioxidants – antioxidants play a very important role in the life of those people who work in night shifts.  include foods with vibrant color like red (tomatoes , carrot, strawberry, red cabbage, etc ) green (green leafy veggies) yellow and orange (lemons , orange, pumkin, carrot) and berries and citrus fruits . Antioxidants have various health benefits specially for the night shift workers.

What to do on reaching home from Night Shift ??

- If you reach home at midnight or a little later like 2.00 am,  dont immediately  go and sleep. After raching home  drink luke warm water and lemon or a glass of warm milk , change  up and then hit the bed.

- If you reach home in early morning hours  like 5.00 am or later, have bath, wear light clothes have a small meal  poha / upama / corn flakes or wheat flakes with a glass of milk and then hit the bed.

 

What to do when you wake up ? 

- after you have slept for 6-7 hours , wake up and have a round of exercise .. you can choose walking / jogging / or even a gym workout or activity like swimming / skating  / Table tennis / lawn tennis or other  if you don’t have that kind of time or options,  then simply do yoga and some stretching and warm up exercise at home.

Here is a diet plan for weight loss for indian night shift workers !

Hope these diet tips for night shift workers would be of benefit for you.