From research revealed that night work can pose a threat to occupational health and safety. Briefly, this is because the body's natural biorhythms and work and rest times do not align. But night shifts are inevitable in some industries... Now what? We give you the ultimate night shift tips.
A little background on night shifts
Night shifts can lead to short- and long-term health issues. This is mainly due to your biological clock. The functioning of your body is not constant, but changes over a 24-hour period. This is also called the circadian rhythm mentioned.
In a 24-hour cycle, physical, mental and behavioral changes follow one another. For example, melatonin is produced at the end of the day, your bowel activity stops and your body temperature slowly decreases. This is all regulated by your biological clock, which responds particularly to light and dark. Hence, we are naturally awake during the day and asleep at night.
The health complaints by night work are thus actually a consequence of the mismatch between work and rest times, and the natural rhythm of human beings. Chronic disruption of the system controlled by the biological clock - also called desynchronization called - leads acutely to fatigue and over time to other health problems.
Now, in certain industries, night shifts are part of the job. By consciously managing your rhythm and Rechargemoments, you can reduce the short-term consequences of this. We give you the most important night shift tips in this article.
Will you manage to tick off all these night shift tips full of good Recharge moments during your next night shift? Especially tip number 5 will please you!
Night shift tip #1: Provide your body with the right fuel
From research shows that with appropriate nutrition, fatigue during the night shift can be reduced by 26%. Of course, it starts with a good, healthy evening meal to get going with enough energy. During your night shift, you can use nutrition at various times to take a break. Rechargen:
23:00 - Late night snack
After a few hours of work, you may feel the first slumps coming. Take a healthy snack that will give you another energy boost. Think of cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit or granola, a cracker with an egg or some nuts.
Or make a tasty snack for yourself like banana bread, oat bars or date balls.
01:30 - Midnight meal
Halfway through your night shift, take a real break, and time to eat well. Make sure you consciously choose what you eat. If you choose a fatty, or carbohydrate-rich meal in the rush, you'll actually tire faster. So eat light, protein-rich meals with slow-absorbing carbohydrates (whole grain products). Think soup with bread or a nice (well-filled) salad.
Remember that during the night, your digestive system is at a low ebb. Therefore, your body cannot digest large amounts of food properly. This strain can cause fatigue. So throughout your night shift, do not eat too much or too fatty foods.
05:00 - Early morning snack
Take a Recharge-moment before you start the final stretch of your shift by eating a light breakfast. It's important to get food in now that will give you a quick boost so you can get going for a few more hours.
Think of a meal you might normally choose for breakfast: a granola roll with apple syrup or cheese, fruit (possibly with yogurt) or a sandwich. Fancy a slightly more creative meal? In the recipe book of your #Recharge you'll find recipes for oatmeal and smoothies, among other things. Perfect for boosting that last bit of energy.
Night shift tip #2: Take a walk around or clean up something
Depending on your position, you may move a lot or little during your night shift. If you don't naturally move much during the night, make a conscious effort to do so. Movement keeps your body awake and physical processes active. In addition, movement releases a signal substance that allows your biological clock to function better.
You don't have to start running up and down the stairs right away. Walk a lap, clean something or tidy up. Subtle movement is enough! And, of course, try to take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible.
Night shift tip #3: A moment for yourself
Do you experience a lot of stress during your night shift? Then make it a habit to do a relaxation exercise from time to time. This can be a short meditation, a STOP exercise or a breathing exercise. In the Recharge360-app can be found under 'more-media' several exercises that can help you with this.
Night shift tip #4: Look for the light
Spend your break in a well-lit room. Strong light increases your performance and helps you to be more alert. Daylight and lamps that provide white light have the most impact on the biological clock, keeping you awake and alert.
To adjust to your night shift schedule as quickly as possible, seek out the light as much as possible at night, and avoid it as much as possible during the day.
Night shift tip #5: Take a nap
Feeling tired during your night shift? Take a power nap! From research has been shown that immediately after a nap, alertness increases and fatigue decreases. A nap also has a stress-reducing effect.
So if work permits, a nap can be a very effective *Recharge-* moment. Try it at 20-25 minutes keep. This prevents you from falling into too deep a sleep. Waking up from a deep sleep actually causes you to wake up even sleepier than you went to sleep. Be aware that even after a short nap, your body needs some time to wake up. So make sure you take a few minutes to really wake up before you put yourself back into acute situations.
Another thing that can help with your fatigue during your night shift is to take a nap before your shift starts. This is especially useful if you haven't slept long enough during the day (less than 6 hours). Again, try to keep it to 20-25 minutes, or opt for a longer 1.5-hour nap. Then catch a cycle of deep sleep, and awaken again during light sleep.
Tip: Concretize for yourself which night shift tips you will apply, so that this knowledge does not remain just knowledge. What will you apply on your next night shift?
