{"id":3232,"date":"2025-11-11T15:35:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/?p=3232"},"modified":"2025-11-11T15:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:35:28","slug":"working-night-shifts-3-nutritional-challenges-and-4-solutions-to-eat-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/working-night-shifts-3-nutritional-challenges-and-4-solutions-to-eat-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Working night shifts: 3 nutritional challenges and 4 solutions to eat better!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Ever wondered how non-traditional work schedules, such as night shifts, can affect the nutrition of employees such as <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/37589978\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">firefighters<\/a>, technicians and nurses ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Recently, Radio-Canada journalist Denis Duchesne, interviewed me on this topic. To listen to the radio interview, please <a href=\"https:\/\/ici.radio-canada.ca\/ohdio\/premiere\/emissions\/votre-samedi\/segments\/rattrapage\/2198327\/alimentation-travailleurs-nuit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click on this link<\/a>, &nbsp;or feel free to read my written summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">When we work during the day, we typically eat breakfast, lunch, a snack (if we\u2019re hungry), and supper. Preparing these meals and trying to focus on eating a balanced diet during traditional 9-to-5 hours is not always easy, imagine the challenges faced by shift workers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Our bodies naturally follow a daytime circadian rhythm, working at night disrupts this circadian rhythm, which can, among other things, slow down digestion and disrupt appetite.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">This may lead people who work flexible schedules, (such as night shifts), to develop different eating habits to compensate for lack of sleep, drowsiness, and difficulty digesting food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>HERE ARE 3 NUTRITIONAL CHALLENGES THAT ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR AMONGST PEOPLE WORKING NIGHT SHIFTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Skipping breakfast (because you are tired and want to sleep after finishing your night shift).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eating sugary foods (to try to compensate for the lack of energy).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Drinking caffeinated beverages (to counteract drowsiness and stay awake at night).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>THESE NUTRITIONAL CHALLENGES COULD LEAD TO HEALTH CONSEQUENCES, SUCH AS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Digestive problems: acid reflux, bloating, constipation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Risk of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure or cholesterol<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chronic fatigue and decreased alertness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Eating alone during meals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>HERE ARE 4 SOLUTIONS WHICH CAN IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Eat breakfast after work: Even if you&#8217;re tired, it&#8217;s better to eat a light <a href=\"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/eating-breakfast-pays-off\/\">breakfast<\/a> (whole grains cereal or bread, fruit, nuts) than to skip it altogether.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eat before work: For example, if your shift starts at midnight, it&#8217;s best to have lunch when you wake up, around 3 p.m.; then have dinner with your family around 7 p.m. (an idea for a balanced meal: poultry, lean meat, or fish, accompanying vegetables and potatoes).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid sugar at night: Sugary foods and drinks (chocolate bars, energy drinks, sodas) give you a spike of energy followed by increased fatigue. It&#8217;s better to prepare healthy snacks such as yogurt, fruit and granola, which will help you feel energized for a couple of hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Drink plenty of water: Proper hydration reduces fatigue and the temptation to consume coffee or energy drinks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CONCLUSION:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">In summary, to eat well during a night shift, it is best to focus on balance nutrition and regular meals, avoid sweets, stay well hydrated, and maintain a stable routine as much as possible by eating at least one meal a day with family, friends, or colleagues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever wondered how non-traditional work schedules, such as night shifts, can affect the nutrition of employees such as firefighters, technicians and nurses ? Recently, Radio-Canada journalist Denis Duchesne, interviewed me on this topic. To listen to the radio interview, please click on this link, &nbsp;or feel free to read my written summary: When we work [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-food"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3232"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3236,"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3232\/revisions\/3236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}