Eating for shift workers
Nutrition is an essential element of health and wellbeing. But the word nutrition might conjure up memories of boring university lectures about macro- and micro-nutrients, or even trigger negative thoughts around body-image, “good” and “bad” foods, or dieting and weight loss.
Another way to think of the food we eat, is to think of nourishment. Eating is nourishment for our bodies, and it is also nourishment for our souls.
Eating to nourish our body can be difficult for shift workers. At a basic level, adequate calorie intake is shown to be essential for maintaining physical and cognitive performance on a range of tasks. But often we work through our meal breaks, only to later reach for foods that may be calorie-dense and of little nutritional value. For many of us, night shifts are fuelled by lollies and chips.
In general, a light meal early in a shift, as well as small protein-rich snacks every few hours, is probably the best plan to maintain energy and performance throughout a shift.
As food choices at work are somewhat limited, if we want to ensure adequate calories and good nutrition during a shift, some advance planning is required.
Ideas to increase the likelihood of eating well include:
- Planning meals and shopping in advance of a block of shifts
- Purchasing mostly whole foods. Look at your shopping trolley (or fridge/pantry) and ask yourself a couple of questions:
- are whole grains, lean proteins and fruit & veg taking up the majority of your trolley? ideally, it would look like the “nutrition pyramid” (recently upgraded for Australians to the “healthy eating plate” )
- does this look like food your great-grandma would recognise?
- Avoiding purchasing highly processed foods
- Bringing a packed lunch to work and including some high-protein snacks (boiled eggs, nuts, tinned tuna)
- Meal prepping or batch cooking think stews (use the slow-cooker or crockpot), stir-fries. salads…
- Remembering to drink plenty of water
Eating to nourish our souls is also important. Sitting down to a shared meal is one of life’s simple pleasures. Meal breaks at work can mimic this. Take the time to sit down, connect with your colleagues, and savour your food. Use the opportunity that meal breaks provide to disconnect from screens and devices. And also to listen to your body: are you hungry, tired, thirsty or stressed? Do you need some quick energy, a full meal, or something to lift your mood?
Foods and eating can be very evocative experience. Examples include the memories evoked while eating a piece of cake baked from your grandma’s favourite recipe; the comfort of a wholesome, warm stew; and even the “hit” from a piece of good quality chocolate. You can utilise these as tools whenever you need!
There are other ways of thinking about eating for shift workers too. There is evidence for fasting on night shifts – and particularly for avoiding eating between midnight and 5am. And Time Restricted Eating may also be a useful idea for many shift workers. Some additional reading on this below, and more to come in future posts.
Eating in a 10-hour window may reduce the health harms of shift work | New Scientist
What should I eat on my night shift? | The BMJ
Conquer Your Night Shift Cravings: A Clear Hourly Meal Plan – The Other Shift