Nutrition Tips for Shift Workers

Many shift workers probably find it very difficult to eat healthy due to their hectic schedules.  Especially shift workers who are working the night shift.  It is very difficult to access food that is healthy when the only sources to get food are from vending machines and fast food places. 

Eating healthy is very important to feeling your best on and off the job.

Health issues shift workers often face are:  they are at increased risk of heart disease, angina, high blood pressure and stroke; shift workers usually feel tired and have trouble falling asleep or getting good quality sleep; shift workers experience more digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea, gas, heartburn and indigestion.

These problems can be aggravated by poor nutrition and lack of exercise, common among shift workers.

Being a shift worker affects your health by interfering with your “internal body clock”, which functions to regulate the roughly 24 hour cycle of the human body.  Working shifts can throw the rhythm of your body off.  “For example, your internal body clock tells your body to be awake in the daytime and asleep when it's dark. After working through the night, you may want to go to sleep just when your body thinks it's time to wake up!”

In the evening and overnight your body’s digestive processes slow down.  When this rhythm is interrupted by shift work, what you eat may be out of sync with what your body is able to process.  Fats will not be cleared from the blood stream as efficiently and blood sugars will not be regulated appropriately. 

Click on the link below to find healthy eating tips to help you feel great and stay awake and alert at home and on the job.  

http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/ViewDocument.aspx? id=23

Posted by: suhujitha on 2009-03-25 14:45:00

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