Working overnight, how should you eat from the previous night to the next morning?

Modern life makes many people unavoidable overnight work sessions. They are not just doctors, drivers or workers in the factory. Occasionally, office workers, who have to work on projects or even students, must stay awake overnight to get the job done.

Obviously it is not an ideal choice.Working overnight will turn up the circadian rhythm, disrupt eating habits and sleep. In short, it will cause digestive problems, insomnia, increased risk of accidents and reduced quality of life. Long-term, night shift work involves many dangerous diseases such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, depression and some types of cancer.

Modern life makes many people unavoidable overnight work sessions.

The good news is that eating in a healthier and more scientific way can help you prevent some night shift work-related health problems. Not instant noodles and coffee, see what is the way to help you get through the sleepless nights and stay healthy:

1. What time should you have dinner?

For a night shift, dinner is really your important meal . This is the time when you "dump fuel" and that will often be a big meal. According to nutrition experts at Dietitians of Canada, you should not eat a big meal too close to working hours . It will cause digestive problems like heartburn and constipation.

Not only that, but the meal time will make you feel sluggish and sleepy soon. So instead of having dinner too late, the best time for you is from 5 to 7 pm . At that time, you can both eat a healthy meal with your family, but also avoid the negative effects of loading a big meal.

2. What should you eat during dinner?

Reduce carbohydrates during dinner, you will less sleepy.

Not surprisingly, before every night shift, everyone has to consider fighting sleepiness. Choosing the right food will help you, instead of depending and abusing coffee. The advice here is to limit carbohydrates .

Imagine that your meal is on a plate, starchy foods should only take about a quarter. The same amount is protein-containing foods like meat, fish, eggs, beans. Half a meal on your plate should be reserved for vegetables.

In addition, choosing a healthy source of carbohydrates from whole grains will give you a stable amount of energy throughout your work, whether it's night or daytime. On the contrary, bad types of carb such as instant noodles do not help you really feel full. They also contain too much salt and no significant nutritional value.

These types of carb as bad as instant noodles will not make you really full.

You should also avoid eating fried foods because they are difficult to digest and will stay in the stomach for a long time. Foods high in fat or sugar such as fast food and processed foods will also make you feel drowsy and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes.

3. Eat healthy snacks during working hours

Unless you work in a factory and have to stand in a continuous line, snacking constantly during night work is often a difficult habit to quit. However, snacks are not bad . The problem is whether you are choosing healthy foods or not?

Late nights are a time when your body drops energy and you need to pull it up to continue working. Again, do not go to vending machines and choose fast food or high sugar foods.

Nuts are a healthy snack food.

The healthiest choice for snacks during working time is unsalted nuts such as peas, almonds, chestnuts, walnuts . It will be a good source of fat. strong for you.

If you're still hungry, try a protein bar with peanut butter or soy beans. Always keep a bowl of fresh fruit within easy reach. Your goal is to get two servings of fruit each day. So keep yogurt and fresh fruits in the refrigerator at work.

Limit the presence of processed foods such as candies, sweets, chocolate . One is that you store them away from sight. Or it can be reduced by buying smaller chocolate bars.

4. Drinks and caffeine

Don't abuse coffee, energy drinks and soft drinks.

Irrespective of whether it is a night shift or day shift, whenever your body needs enough water. But during a night shift, water can keep you more alert. So keep a bottle of water right next to you.

Choose non-sugar tea, low-fat milk or nutritious vegetable juices. Avoid energy drinks and sugar-rich drinks. As mentioned, sugar can help you stay awake a little, but as a single carbohydrate, sugar is absorbed very quickly. It will cause the energy level to decline after a few hours and let you fall asleep.

Do not abuse coffee. Caffeine can stay and work on your body for up to 8 hours. Therefore, drinking coffee in a night shift can bring about alertness. However, the downside of this is that your next day's sleep will be affected.

Remember that every day you should not consume more than 400mg of caffeine . It is equivalent to 4 small cups of coffee. Moreover, caffeine is also available in energy drinks and soft drinks. Sometimes you can drink coffee, but at least keep them as far away from sleep as possible.

5. Breakfast after you're done

A light breakfast with carb-rich foods will make you sleep better.

Certainly with the above diet, you have a night of energy and efficiency. What you need to care about now is a quality sleep. According to Boston University guidelines, a carbohydrate-rich breakfast will help you sleep more easily. Some common high-carb foods like bread, cereals and fruits will be a good choice.

However, the breakfast of a night worker should only stop at a small serving. It avoids you from starving and affecting sleep. Do not eat a large meal that exceeds 20% of your daily calories within 1 to 2 hours immediately before your primary sleep.

6. Vitamin D problem

Only 85 grams of salmon can contain up to 450 IU of vitamin D.

If you are a person who regularly works during the night shift, you may be deficient in vitamin D because of insufficient exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency will first affect the quality of sleep after your shift. Moreover, it also involves a series of dangerous diseases that include some types of cancer.

So if you can't synthesize vitamin D by sunlight yourself, you need to pay more attention to supplementing it through food.Eat fatty fish like salmon twice a week. Only 85 grams of salmon can contain up to 450 IU of vitamin D, compared to the recommended daily intake of 600 IU for adults.

In addition, some other foods rich in vitamin D, such as milk, eggs, mushrooms, soybeans and vegetables will also help you. In some cases of severe vitamin D deficiency, you will need to take supplements. But consult a doctor, because if overdose can cause poisoning or cause many dangerous complications.