7 Healthy Food For Night Shift Workers

Due to the changing system of work, many people are considering working in the night or graveyard shift, which means the person works all night and follows the same routine that a day worker might do.

Working at night not only affects sleep, but it affects the health of a person badly.

It disrupts the natural rhythm of sleep, which can increase the risk of heart disease, obesity or diabetes.

In many people, symptoms of anxiety, tension, anger, irritability, etc. are also seen due to such working conditions.\

It has also been seen that many such people complain of gut health like constipation, acidity, abdominal pain, loose motions, abdominal cramps, etc.

All this happens because of certain food habits. To curb the sleep, people tend to consume more caffeine which impacts on the stomach badly.

In this article, we will share with you some food habits, which if followed can improve several health issues.

Can waking up at night worsen your health?

People who wake up at night due to such shifts, there is an imbalance in the process of making hormones in their body. For this reason also, working at night can worsen the health. If we talk about human psychology, then the mind thinks of night as the time for sleeping and day for working. But when a person works during the whole night, this cycle is disrupted due to which the coordination between the body and the mind gets disturbed. The result of all this is that the body feels completely tired. Along with this, the risk of heart diseases increases.

How working night affects gut health?

Most people working late nights or during the night tend to consume heavy food at night, due to which the health may deteriorate. The body’s metabolism slows down at night and digestion also slows down, so only light food should be eaten at night. Due to not doing this, symptoms like abdominal cramps and constipation start appearing. Waking up at night does not give rest to the stomach and due to the internal clock of the stomach being affected, there may be gas or pain in the stomach.

Food tips to improve such conditions

Health experts agree that one should avoid working late nights or graveyard shifts. But, if a person cannot avoid such situations, they can improve their food habits. Here are some of the food habits one must follow to get their gut health in check.

1. One must avoid consuming too much of caffeine and should not intake more than 2 cups of tea/coffee.

2. If the person feels too sleepy, one must consume herbal tea to avoid excessive intake of caffeine.

3. Along with this, you should eat light food at night. Choose snacks that do not contain too much chilli and spices.

4. When the work is done, make sure to include carbs, protein and healthy fat in the first meal of the day.

5. Avoid consuming fried and fast foods like pizza, burger, bread, sweet things, shake, packaged foods, chocolates etc. during the night as they tend to increase the blood sugar levels.

6. If the person feels hungry at night, they can eat salads made with paneer and green vegetables or fruits etc. But, make sure they are not raw and are steamed or boiled.

7. Although, it has been argued several times but curd can be consumed at night to keep gut health strong.