NIGHT SHIFT SURVIVAL GUIDE (THE HEALTHY WAY)

This one is for my fellow shift workers!

Its 07:47 and I am snuggled up in my bed having just finished my third and final night shift (STOKED). This topic is one I really wanted to write about because its something I would have loved to read as a new graduate nurse!

And it is..

HOW TO STAY HEALTHY ON NIGHT SHIFTS

Okay, so first of all it sounds A LOT easier than it is.

For those who are BLESSED enough to not do night shift work, let me paint a picture..

I’m sure a lot of us know what its like to be hungover – doing night shifts is literally like being hungover for however many days straight but minus the alcohol. And minus the fun..

Add in a few over 85 ‘sundowners’ (the sun goes down and confused people get EXTRA confused – it’s a real thing. Getting old is the pits!) losing their absolute marbles at 4am and that’s basically night shift in a nutshell.

Another similarity between hangovers and night shift is that all you want to eat is rubbish! Do not underestimate the power of the sleep deprivation cravings! One word; Relentless.

Anyway so night shifts suck, we get it. How do we refrain from falling headfirst into the bag of potato chips our colleague ever so kindly brought along to share?

Here are my tips..

1. Find a routine that works for you!

This is the foundation for success for staying healthy when the ole night shifts roll around. Everyone is different but speak to people you work with and ask them what their night shift routine is like. Some people like to go home and sleep until late in the arvo and then get up and go to work, others like to split sleep and go to sleep until midday, get up, do things they need to do in the middle of the day and then go back to sleep before work. Experiment with different sleeping regimes and find which you prefer and which leaves you feeling the most functional and least groggy and also which one allows you to get the most sleep. For me, I come home and go straight to sleep and wake back up after around 8 hours of sleep! I need at least 8 hours (very high maintenance, I know) otherwise I feel like a walking zombie! If you struggle to sleep during the day try using a sleep mask, and blacking the room out completely. Ear plugs work too if you live in a busy or noisy area.

2. Try and maintain a semi-normal eating pattern.

Eating on night shifts is a weird situation to get your head around, but try and maintain normality where you can. What this looks like for me is I will get home after a night shift and have breakfast, as normal. Then I will go to sleep. When I wake up I will have something light like a smoothie with some protein and then after that my next meal would be dinner, which I would have as normal also. Try and stick to highly nutritious meals as this is exactly what your body needs (despite it telling you it wants to be head-first in one of those cookie dough mcflurries). It’s hard to opt for good food when we already feel a bit shit, but just keep in mind that you will only feel 100x worse if your not taking care of yourself. Its also important to remember that if we are not regular night shift-ers then our bodies wont be used to eating large meals overnight. Overnight our digestion slows down a lot (hello constipation) so we don’t want to be overloading our gut with foods which take a lot of digestion when our digestion isn’t optimal. With this In mind, try and stick to a few easily digestible, light and healthy snacks to keep you going – like a cup of soup, a piece of fruit, some carrot sticks or sometimes plain popcorn. Sometimes I don’t eat anything because I’m pretty good at sticking to all my other regular meals, but if I do take snacks, that’s what ill pack. Lastly don’t forget to keep up with your water intake! Its important to drink just as much as you usually would. This can not only alleviate some relentless snacking overnight but also we can tend to become dehydrated working in the drying environment of the hospital (aircon man, I’m looking at you).

3. Keep exercising!

Ok this is a hard one and admittedly this wasn’t something I did when on night shifts for a long time! It took me a good solid 6 months of establishing some routine around night shifts before I even thought about exercising. When you first start out with night shifts, you feel like a hot, steaming pile of shit, and exercise is the last thing on your mind, not going to lie. But they get easier as time goes on and as your body begins to adapt. This is something else you will have to fit into your day around your sleep schedule – however in saying that, sleep always takes priority, make sure you’ve had enough sleep and then fit it in. Remember, night shifts are super stressful on the bod so I wouldn’t be out there trying to get that personal best in the gym, but you’ll definitely feel better for getting the blood flowing in one way or another.

4. Take ya vitamins!

Due to the stress and sleep deprivation that comes with night shifts our immune system can be lowered and this can lead to us becoming unwell. Keep on top of this by ensuring your taking a good quality, high strength vitamin C. Another good one is your B Vitamins. B vitamins play a big role in energy levels and can help with maintaining your energy to see you through night shifts!

5. Try and keep stress levels doowwwnnnn.

As I said, night shifts are hella stressful on the bod. Its not natural to be awake all night and sleep all day, it really messes with our circadian rhythm – were not owls! So with that being said its important that when on night shifts you try and keep stress levels down In all other ways. You might find your skin breaks out while on night shifts and while this is probably somewhat attributable to that DAMN aircon (if you’re in a hospital), its most likely flaring up because of the stress of being awake all night. Think of it as controlling what you can. You can’t control that BLOODY AIRCON that dries everything out including your soul, or the fact your doing night shifts, but you can control the other stressors In your life that also contribute to poor skin (or whatever else might flare up for you when under stress e.g eczema). Think of it as kind of making the best of a bad situation. A good way of keeping stress down Is not drinking loads of caffeine overnight, I know its tempting when you hit the 4am wall and your literally about to fall asleep standing up like a horse (do they actually do that?) but trust me, your body wont thank you for it. Your only going to send your cortisol levels sky high which is not an ideal environment for your body to function in.

6. Keep the bowels moooooving!

As I said, digestion slows down a heck of a lot during night shifts and your entire normal routine is basically flipped on its head, and as a result you may find you get constipated (just what you need, right?). Before you start eyeing up your constipated patients laxatives, here are some solutions..

Include a good source of fibre! Im a big smoothie gal, and the way I like to include fibre is to have it in my smoothies. I have a jar at home which contains a mixture of 5 of my fav ingredients to get things moving.

· Psyllium husk – A great source of fibre

· Flaxseed (Linseed) – High in both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre. This fibre duo gets fermented by the gut bacteria in the large bowel, bulks up the stool and results in more regular bowel movements (amazing).

· Dandelion root – acts as another type of digestive tonic. Dandelion is well known for its detoxification effects on the body through both a stool and urine perspective.

· Slippery Elm – contains mucilage which coats the gut and stomach with a thick substance which allows the gut to flow smoothly.

· Chia seeds – Another great source of fibre

My favourite smoothie combo! Peanut butter, banana, cacao, chia seeds, almond milk, two islands coconut & vanilla protein, ice and my fibre mix!

You can find all these from your local Bin-Inn or bulk foods store (potentially even your supermarket but don't quote me). Mix them all together in equal portions in a jar and keep it handy for times of need.

As you can see this little concoction packs a good fibrous punch, helping to relieve constipation and keep things moving along! Only a very small amount of this is needed and disguised in a smoothie is my favorite way to have it (because quite frankly is foul).

Another positive is by keeping things moving along you are encouraging good gut motility and excretion which is essential to optimal functioning of so many other systems in our body – think energy, skin and hormones! So, this could be something to implement into your lifestyle regardless of constipation issues or whether you do night shift!

Well, That’s basically my survival guide to night shifts! I hope in some way or another this has helped and you’ve gained something from this!

I’d love to know what other blog posts you’d like to see from me, comment either on this blog or on my latest insta post!

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