Off late many people are doing night shifts. Naturally, it does affect their sleep pattern and they need to stay healthy.
Working night shifts I no doubt financially very rewarding, but one’s health can get affected.
Night shifts are indeed a risk factor for health and well-being, at both, social and psychophysical levels, starting from a disruption of biological circadian rhythms as well as sleep/wake cycle and do end in several psychosomatic troubles as well as disorders, such as cancer.
Nurses work late nights and this does place them at risk of reduced performance on the job, obesity, injuries and a wide range of chronic diseases.
In this fast-changing economic scenario, it is indeed difficult to forgo one’s night job.
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How to stay healthy if one has a night shift?
1. Take Frequent Breaks
Even if one were working at a 9-to-5 job or night shifts, one must take frequent breaks.
The break can be about 10 to 20 minutes for every one hour of work, much depending on whether one was sitting most of the time or involved in a monotonous or hazardous work.
Taking breaks one can protect oneself from the potential hazards of hours of sitting almost every day. It helps to boost creativity and passion, refresh one’s attention span and sustain concentration, lower one’s body mass index, keep one’s eyes happy as well as healthy. It can help with one’s memory and be learning.
2. Exercise When You Can
Working night shifts does not imply that one can skip exercising. Regular exercise does help one’s body that is adapted to stressful circumstances that include the nontraditional sleep schedule of night sleep. It even boasts one’s immunity, keeps one alert, and also improves one’s concentration as well as memory. Daily exercise is important.
If one is working the night shift, it is essential to find a workout time that does fit into one’s schedule. One can go in for cardiovascular exercise such as bike riding. Swimming or even playing a sport.
Do exercise even on the shift like go for short walks or climb stairs in one’s office as much as possible.
One can go in for some yoga before going to bed.
3. Stick to a Regular Sleep Pattern
People with do face sleep-related issues as one has to sleep during daytime.
One tends to suffer from obesity, heart disease, stress as well as other health issues.
To get the much-needed sleep, stick to a routine. Try to eat and sleep around the same times, seven days a week.
During the daytime, one experiences noises that prevent one from sleeping. One would like uninterrupted sleep.
One can exercise in the morning after one’s shift ends that can help one’s body realize it is time to rest. The best form of exercise is running, spinning or kickboxing.
Before going to sleep, eat breakfast to avoid waking due to hunger.
4. Limit one’s Caffeine Intake
While doing night shift jobs, people tend to keep on drinking coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages to help them stay alert.
One must not have too much caffeine as it is bad for one’s health. But drinking too much caffeine can also be bad for one’s health. Caffeine can keep one wake and one finds it difficult to sleep.
Those on night-shift should avoid drinking coffee in order to improve their sleep. The caffeine in coffee does interfere with sleep, and this side effect does worsen as one age.
If one does like coffee, one must not drink more than two to three small cups of regular coffee a day. However, it is better to switch to decaffeinated drinks or even unsweetened herbal tea.