Tips for a Night Shift worker

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cmabramo
cmabramo Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working overnights for the past 2 and a half years and have seen a considerable amount of weight gain during that time. I suppose I'm just wondering if any of you overnighters have any tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle while on the night shift. I have a hard time getting a full 8 hours of sleep (lucky if I get 5), eating regularly is difficult, and I always feel too tired to get in a good workout so I'm not sure what time of day is best for me to do that. I know it is entirely lack of motivation and self-discipline on my part. But I'm getting married this August and also am sick of feeling like a lazy bum. So if anyone has tips on how to get a good schedule going that would be fantastic! :smile:
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  • s_light
    s_light Posts: 58 Member
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    What type of work do you do?
  • mfp2014mfp
    mfp2014mfp Posts: 689 Member
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    Congratulations on the wedding :flowerforyou:
    Going to stalk the thread as my partner has just started the late shift and looking for some tips too.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
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    I've been working overnights for the past 2 and a half years and have seen a considerable amount of weight gain during that time. I suppose I'm just wondering if any of you overnighters have any tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle while on the night shift. I have a hard time getting a full 8 hours of sleep (lucky if I get 5), eating regularly is difficult, and I always feel too tired to get in a good workout so I'm not sure what time of day is best for me to do that. I know it is entirely lack of motivation and self-discipline on my part. But I'm getting married this August and also am sick of feeling like a lazy bum. So if anyone has tips on how to get a good schedule going that would be fantastic! :smile:

    For 10 years I worked nights and weekends.. what is your schedule like.
    for me, I would get something to eat at 9:30/10pm and go to work by 11 and work from 11 - 8am
    From 9am - 12 nap/sleep
    12-1pm: I would get up eat.
    1pm -3 - work out-
    by 3 - 5pm - nap
    5pm - get something on the table for me and the wife.
  • LaneyRZ
    LaneyRZ Posts: 22 Member
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    Night shift for almost 9 years here. My work schedule is Midnight to 8am. I go to bed about 1pm and wake up about 9pm. The sleep might be helped by investing in blackout curtains, sleeping in a dark room does wonders. If I have bouts of sleep trouble, I'll pop 3 benadryl about half an hour before bed. As far as eating goes, I eat "breakfast" about 10pm. "Lunch" is about 4 or 5am depending on when I get hungry and then a light "dinner" about 11am or noon. I try to workout sometime between when I get home from work and bedtime as the exercise really helps wear me out to sleep.
  • cmabramo
    cmabramo Posts: 4
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    Thank you for the congratulations! :happy:

    I work as a Home Health Aide, so I'm helping elderly people who can't move well with whatever their needs are throughout the night. I can be up and down a bit since my client's usually don't sleep much, but it's mostly sedentary. My shifts are 11p-7a. The main problem I'm finding is my body has a hard time sleeping during the day, which makes me so sleepy and almost zombie-like for much of the rest of the time that I'm awake. For a time I would try working out right after work, but I've found that if I don't go directly to bed after work my internal clock gets reset and then I can't sleep after. Even when I do go right to bed and am asleep by hopefully 830-9, I always seem to wake up around 1 at the latest!! And then while it's not enough sleep for my body to be healthy, it is enough to keep me from going back to sleep for the rest of the day. So then I'm extremely exhausted by the time I start work, which makes it hard for me to think about working out right before or right after work- even though I know it would be best! As far as eating, I know I need to eat at work, but I'm so tired I feel like I'm almost in a trance haha- I set my alarm for every 15-30 min to keep from falling asleep! So I never feel hungry at work. Which leaves me with one or two meals a day. Perhaps working out in the afternoon as was suggested would be helpful. I get so frustrated because before working this shift I was very committed to the gym, but now I'm so darn tired all the time! I've requested to get onto the day shift, but it's been slow-going and I don't want to keep waiting or making excuses for getting back in shape.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Step one: Eat to your calorie goal.

    Step 2: Repeat step one.

    When you eat, and how many meals you eat don't make a bit of difference in the world.

    Seriously, it doesn't matter what shift you work, the fact that you aren't getting enough sleep is the main issue, but that affects anyone who doesn't get enough sleep, no matter what shift they work.
  • cmabramo
    cmabramo Posts: 4
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    I don't think I could go to bed as late as 1pm, but the hours you eat seem reasonable to me! I could just push them back about 4 hours, so breakfast at 6pm, lunch at 12 or 1am, and a light dinner at 7 or 8 am. Although that would also have to mean I actually sleep until 5pm like I should! I think as far as eating and working out it really comes down to my just sucking it up and doing it even when I'm tired so I can get in the habit of it. What I'm not sure about is how to sleep better! I wouldn't want to take Benadryl, especially since I have a sleeping problem more days than not. I have heard Melatonin works, does anyone have any opinions on using that??
  • cmabramo
    cmabramo Posts: 4
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    Seriously, it doesn't matter what shift you work, the fact that you aren't getting enough sleep is the main issue, but that affects anyone who doesn't get enough sleep, no matter what shift they work.

    I agree that sleep is the main issue, especially since it's affecting other aspects of my health. I was just explaining the reason I don't get enough sleep is because my body has a hard time sleeping during the day, which is because I work overnights.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
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    When I was on Night Shift, it generally looked like:

    5PM: Wake Up.
    6PM: Arrive at work.
    7PM: Shift Begins.
    7AM: Shift ends.
    8AM: Breakfast.
    9AM: Exercise.
    10AM: Shower / Hygiene.
    11AM / Noon: In bed.

    Basically, I inverted what had been my usual daytime schedule.

    Sleep, and especialy sleep quality, can be an issue. Luckily, our barracks included small rooms (like the cargo containers you see on ships, trains, or trucks) contained within a larger building, so it was easy to block out the sun. The big challenge was day shifters, but they were usually working until 5 PM, so it was really only an issue on the weekends.
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
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    I work 3rd shift as well. 10pm to 7am I try to hold to this...
    wake at 8ish
    eat breakfast at 9
    snack at about 1am
    lunch between 3 and 4
    I work out directly after work in the morning, once I sit for the day i'm a goner...
    Eat dinner at about 10
    Try to get to sleep by 1

    I have tried the melatonin, did not do a thing for me.

    I do sleep much better after working out. Still don't always get consecutive sleep, but that is just the part of 3rd shift that sucks.

    Try to get a routine down that works for you, and stick to it.

    Best of luck!
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
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    I have to have it cold in my house to sleep during the day. I also lock the animals out of my room and have lined curtains and blinds. I often have to take Benadryl to sleep more than 4 hours. If I get 6-7 hours I feel pretty good.
  • Zondeare
    Zondeare Posts: 50 Member
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    I work 7p-7a and have never enjoyed life more! My typical schedule looks like this

    7p-7a: work
    7:30a-2:30p: sleep
    2:30p: exercise! Then shower and change
    4p: pick up my kids from daycare/preschool and make dinner, playtime (kids are 1 and 3)
    5:30p: hubby gets home for family dinner
    6:30p: get ready for work while kids get ready for bed
    6:50p: out the door

    If I worked the alternative 7a-7p, I'd never see my children. I may sleep more, but having family dinner every night and a couple hours with my kids is well worth it.

    I have a good friend who works 11p-7a and she splits sleep because she has the same problem you do. She sleeps from 8a-12 then sleeps again from 7-10pm. She loves this schedule and has been doing it for almost 7 years now because she can be functional in normal awake hours from noon til 7p and if she switches back to a normal schedule for a few days it's not too hard. She meets me at the gym at 2:30 about once a week.

    Good luck finding a routine that work for you! It's often about trial and error.
  • Zondeare
    Zondeare Posts: 50 Member
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    Oh yeah. I forgot to add my meals. I eat a quick something before I hit the gym at 2:30. Then big family dinner 5:30p. I usually don't have a chance to eat at work til midnight. Then I'll have a small snack at 5-6a. So when I'm working, I eat 4 times a day, but only 2 actual meals.
  • oxers
    oxers Posts: 259 Member
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    I'm swing, usually 3-11:30, but I frequently pull twelves and end up heading home around 3 am, so my eating schedule is super wonky. I try to bolt something down right after class at 11 am, something before I get ready for work at 1, dinner at 7:30 and usually a sort of post-dinner after I get home? I also snack a lot. I try to focus on making sure my meals are very lean and low-calorie, which gives me a lot of wiggle room to chow down on quick pick-me-ups whenever I get the chance. I can't focus if I'm hungry, so this usually ends up being p important.

    Also: tinfoil. I'm serious, tape tinfoil to your windows. It is the ONLY thing that has ever helped me sleep during the day. Tinfoil on the windows, towel along the door, white noise. It helps!
  • Brattye
    Brattye Posts: 1 Member
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    Once you get your sleep schedule straightened out, then the rest will fall into place. I've been working nights for 6 years now, and the sleep determines how my day goes.

    I believe in a set schedule for sleep. And I usually blow it. I work 10-6 and try to be in bed by 8 am. I have a loud neighborhood, so I usually have white noise going. Movie, tv on low, music, fan, or a combination of the above. Keeping the room cool and dark, with a blackout curtain under a regular curtain. Tylenol PM is good, but I make sure I don't have to be anywhere after I wake up, takes about 10 hours to keep from woozinating my brain.

    I don't know how you feel about stimulants and/or coffee, but until your sleep schedule is set, give yourself a coffee allowance. Personally, I prefer Chai Tea, orange soda, pixi sticks, and bouncy music. Not all in the same day, of course. I know you're probably not allowed headphones because of job specs, but this is where earwigs actually come in useful.
  • tomszatanski
    tomszatanski Posts: 1 Member
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    I work 10 hour night shifts (7pm-5am) plus 1.5 hour travel time each way, So I am heading to work at 5:30pm and arrive back at home by 6:30am. It is hard to get my exercise in during the day with enough time to sleep and prepare meals so I just exercise on the weekends for now as I work Monday night till Saturday morning. I try to get at least 6 hours of sleep a day and usually am fairly successful. I eat breakfast at 2-3pm and then lunch at around 8pm and supper around 12-1am with snacks in between. I am 6' and 268 right now and want to get to 230.
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    Been working graveyard for almost twenty years. I've tried the split sleep, that just hurts way too much, and I don't sleep long enough if I go to bed right after coming home. What works for me is to treat the time I get home like a daywalker's regular evening and stay awake until at least 3pm (I'm usually asleep by 5pm) and be up around 10pm. I've always been a night owl any way, so this just suits me better.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    when I did night shift I wouldn't get an exercise those days shifts 8pm - 8:30am plus 1 hr journey, I'd get little sleep also. Will keep an eye on this thread.

    What jobs do people do that start at after 10pm? I've never known night shifts to start any later than 9:30pm but then that's in the health industry. Where I work now shifts are 7pm - 7:30am (I only work the day shifts though)
  • trishylocks
    trishylocks Posts: 11
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    I work 11-7.... for me I take strawberry's & oranges or some other fruit to work & eat those there which I count as my breakfast... I try not to eat again after 4:30am, I force myself to go to sleep by9am,... I have a habit of randomly waking up at 1pm but if i get up I wont be able to go back to sleep & then by the time I have to go work im super zombie like so I dont let myself get up at 1, I stay in bed til I fall back asleep then usually wake up again at 3:30-4pm & thats when I get up.. I try & do a 60 min workout about 30 mins after getting up maybe 4 times a wk... I'll usually have a snack after that & then dinner between 7-8:30pm depending how hungry I am... I dont eat lunch on the days i work & most my calories come from dinner & snacks...
  • joan23_us
    joan23_us Posts: 263 Member
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    Step one: Eat to your calorie goal.

    Step 2: Repeat step one.

    When you eat, and how many meals you eat don't make a bit of difference in the world.

    Seriously, it doesn't matter what shift you work, the fact that you aren't getting enough sleep is the main issue, but that affects anyone who doesn't get enough sleep, no matter what shift they work.

    this plus see you GP and consider taking some supplement to help you with your sleep, its not the best scenario but so as your lifestyle... you do the best you can do... check up melatonin and again consult with your GP before taking anything. goodluck

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