We receive a lot of questions from individuals who are trying to diet while working a night shift. Dieting is difficult for most people, but if you add to that the extra burden of fatigue, irregular sleeping and eating patterns, it can seem a daunting task.
When working the night shift there are two main aims from a nutritional point of view – to keep energy levels high during your shift and to avoid foods that will prevent you sleeping when your shift is over.
1. Exercise
Exercise improves sleeping patterns so will benefit you not only from the point of view of promoting weight loss and improving body shape, but also by improving your quality of sleep.
Exercise before you go to work rather than after. Exercising just before sleeping can promote wakefulness due to the release of adrenalin it produces and the increased heart rate.
2. Eat small, frequent meals.
You will feel more sluggish and less alert if you have a big meal - energy is being used for digestion and less is available for the brain and muscles. Eating several smaller meals will also keep blood sugar levels more even and will avoid the highs, which result in extreme alertness, and the lows, which result in fatigue and lack of alertness. Eating a large meal just before you go to bed may also affect your ability to sleep.
3. Eat adequately so that hunger does not prevent you from sleeping.
Eating small regular meals will help prevent fitful sleep and it’s also a good idea to save some of your daily food allowance to eat around two hours before you sleep.
4. Avoid eating high protein foods
Proteins tend to promote alertness, therefore avoid eating high protein foods (like meat, fish, eggs, cheese and beans) just before you sleep. Instead have carbohydrate-type foods (toast, cereal etc).
5. Avoid foods that are high in sugar.
These include chocolate and sweets, sugar in tea and coffee and highly refined and processed foods. These foods are very quickly metabolised and absorbed into the bloodstream. Blood glucose levels rise very quickly and within a very short time of ingesting these foods, you may feel quite alert and energetic. But the effect is very short-lived. Within an hour, blood sugar levels will decrease due to a rise in insulin levels and you will feel more fatigued than before.
Eating sweet foods like a chocolate bar may be a good strategy if you need an immediate boost, but be aware that a period of fatigue will follow. Instead, choose foods that are high in "complex" carbohydrates and protein. These foods are metabolised much more slowly and maintain blood sugar levels more evenly.
Here are a few examples:
SNACKS
Soups
Fruits, vegetables, salads - including bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, pears, berries etc.
Yogurt, milk (skimmed or semi-skimmed) and low-fat cheeses
Rice cakes, crackers, pretzels, bread sticks
Nuts
Popcorn
Toast, bread rolls, scones, pancakes, bagels
MEALS
Baked potatoes (with cottage cheese, beans, cheese etc)
Stew, shepherds pie, casseroles
Sandwiches
Salads
Soups
6. Avoid foods that may cause discomfort.
Spicy food may cause heartburn. Lying down when you have heartburn can make it worse, or it can cause pain and discomfort that wakes you up in the middle of the night.
High-fibre foods can also sometimes cause discomfort by causing gas and bloating. Avoid eating gas-producing foods late in your shift like beans, raw onions, cabbage, cauliflower - they're all good for you but if they leave you bloated, it may make sleeping difficult. Try adding them in small amounts to your diet earlier in the night so your body can adjust to them gradually.
7. Watch what you drink
Drink lots of water. Sufficient water in the body improves alertness, while lack of water causes thirst, headaches, hunger and induces fatigue.
Limit your consumption of caffeinated drinks. These include coffee, cola and many other carbonated beverages, tea and to a certain extent, chocolate milk. Consume no caffeine at least 4 hours before sleeping.
Reduce your intake of liquids for the last 2 hours before the end of the night shift so that you have less need for elimination when you want to sleep during the day.
Cut down on your alcohol intake, especially before sleep. Alcohol usually induces sleep, but it reduces the quality of sleep.