Night Work

by Dee
(United Kingdom)

How does the eating plan for waking night workers differ from days? Since starting nights my weight has risen drastically. Any helpful advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.

Note from Dr. Dan

Dee,

It's not easy working nights. Some people struggle with it. Some people can't do it at all.

There are deeply ingrained rhythms in the human body, and staying up at night violates those rhythms. As a doctor I have worked in hospitals at night for many years. No matter how well some people adjust to nights, and no matter how long they've been on the night shift, everyone is tired at 5 A.M. Then when the sun comes up they start to wake up again.

A lot of people that work nights become chronically fatigued. They don't sleep well in the day, and eventually they can never get rested.

There are some things that you can do:

When you are working nights it helps if you try to keep your schedule as regular as possible.

This means your schedule in all things. Sleep each day as close to the same time as possible, and try to include a few hours as near to nighttime as you can. For instance if there was a way for you to be sleeping every day from 6-8 A.M. it would help maintain some of your body's rhythms.

Try to eat regularly. People on night shifts often eat junk food or just snack. Take your lunch and eat a regular meal. It is important to keep track of what you are eating, or you can gain weight very easily.

You may find that you eat more at night to give yourself some energy when you are tired. Even a couple of hundred calories a day in this way will cause you to gain significant amounts of weight over time.

You need to keep exercising regularly. Even if you feel tired you should exercise. You'll find that it will keep you feeling better overall. You'll be more flexible, you'll have fewer aches and pains and illnesses. And it will be much easier to maintain a proper body weight.

Your body weight will follow the same principles whether you work days or nights. But because night work throws off your normal rhythms, you have to be much more careful to maintain healthy routines in your life. Look at this link for many more healthy weight loss tips.

Good luck with your night shifts.

Dr. Dan