Health tips for Night owl worker
For those who have to frequently work late at night or working the night shift, your biological clock doesn’t work in the way that it is supposed to. When you have to work at night and sleep during the daytime, this can certainly affect your health. Also, when timing of your activities including meal time changes from its natural ways, it may cause you to have insufficient sleep, resulting in ineffectiveness of body healing process because sleeping rejuvenates your body. When you are sleep-deprived, you will experience fatigues, tiredness, and weaker immune system, increasing the risk of developing diseases. Restore your health with these simple health tips from 3Es E-Eating, E-Exercise, and E-Emotion to improve your physical and mental health.
1. E-Eating: Give your brain a boost with the nutrition
When you work at night, your body have to continuously work hard, and so does your brain. So, there should be some adjustment to your lifestyle and nutrition to boost your brain health. To keep your brain sharp, the first step is to switch your night snacks from a big bag of crisps and pop soda to nuts, low-sugar fruits, regular drinking water or low-sugar beverages.
• Snack on almonds as they are rich in protein, vitamin E, and essential fatty acids which are good for our health. They help improve function of your brain and memory. And they are also good for your eyes since working late night drives your eyes to work much harder.
• Eat low-sugar fruits: If you get hungry at night, keep yourself together before ordering a large pizza because 5-6 pieces of fruits can satisfy your stomach. You may focus on fruits high in vitamin A, Beta-carotene, vitamin C, and antioxidants such as cantaloupe, kiwi, watermelon, guava, and orange to support eye health and vision, reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, boost immunity, and help improve skin condition caused by sleep deprivation.
• Keep sipping water can help freshen up your brain all night and it can help reenergize your body from tiredness. You should sip water every hour, and avoid soda pop and energy drink as they are high in sugar and calories which will give you just a short burst of energy. Overconsumption of sugar is one of the causes of obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
• Eat low-sugar fruits: If you get hungry at night, keep yourself together before ordering a large pizza because 5-6 pieces of fruits can satisfy your stomach. You may focus on fruits high in vitamin A, Beta-carotene, vitamin C, and antioxidants such as cantaloupe, kiwi, watermelon, guava, and orange to support eye health and vision, reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, boost immunity, and help improve skin condition caused by sleep deprivation.
• Keep sipping water can help freshen up your brain all night and it can help reenergize your body from tiredness. You should sip water every hour, and avoid soda pop and energy drink as they are high in sugar and calories which will give you just a short burst of energy. Overconsumption of sugar is one of the causes of obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
2. E-Exercise: Give your body some activity
When you are working late at night, you definitely want to finish your work as soon as you can, but continuously working long hours can negatively affect your health, resulting in, for example, office syndrome and eye fatigue, and abnormalities in functions of excretory system. These are the signs that you are not working in a healthy way. Take a break and have some physical activities to help stimulate your body to stay active. You may go to the toilet more frequently, or set a reminder in your phone to remind you to stand up and do some stretching to relax your body from sitting in the same position for long hours and increase blood circulation to the brain.
• Standing toe reach: Stand up with your feet apart, bend forward then touch your feet. 20 repetitions of this post can help increase blood circulation to power up your brain.
• Stretching neck and shoulder: Sit with straight back, tilt your head to the right and use your right hand to help you pull as farthest as you can until you feel the stretch on the left side of your neck. Hold the position for 10-15 seconds and release. Then, repeat on the left side. This post can help relax neck and shoulder muscle from contraction.
• Make a fist: Relax your fingers and palms by stretching your arms straight to your sides, parallel to the floor, then make a fist and hold for 5 seconds, then release and spread your fingers wide for 5 seconds. 4 repetitions of this pose can help prevent trigger fingers and wrist pain. You may gently massage your hands before going back to work.
• Lift your legs under the table: You can do some exercise at your working desk. Lift one leg parallel to the floor for 5 seconds, then do the same with other leg. 10 repetitions per set can help firm up your thigh, calf muscle, and relax knee ligaments.
• Stretching neck and shoulder: Sit with straight back, tilt your head to the right and use your right hand to help you pull as farthest as you can until you feel the stretch on the left side of your neck. Hold the position for 10-15 seconds and release. Then, repeat on the left side. This post can help relax neck and shoulder muscle from contraction.
• Make a fist: Relax your fingers and palms by stretching your arms straight to your sides, parallel to the floor, then make a fist and hold for 5 seconds, then release and spread your fingers wide for 5 seconds. 4 repetitions of this pose can help prevent trigger fingers and wrist pain. You may gently massage your hands before going back to work.
• Lift your legs under the table: You can do some exercise at your working desk. Lift one leg parallel to the floor for 5 seconds, then do the same with other leg. 10 repetitions per set can help firm up your thigh, calf muscle, and relax knee ligaments.
3. E-Emotion: Classical music to calm your mind
When you have to work late night while everyone else is asleep and there is no one to talk to, stress and sleepiness attacks can definitely occur, causing you to feel more tired. Here are some tips for you to create a relaxing environment with classical music playing in the background. The classical music alters brain waves to help keep your mind sharp and stay focused on your work better. The music can also prevent moodiness and irritability from sleep deprivation.
When you are working night shift, you do not get to see your friends and family quite often because of different schedules. However, you should allocate some time to spend with your loved ones on your free days as it will help brighten up your mood, reduce stress and anxiety from work. Enjoying every little thing around you can help your become happier.
So, when you cannot avoid working at night and sleeping during daytime, you should pay more attention to your health than other people by adjusting your routine to suit biological clock and incorporating healthy behaviors into your lifestyle. Whatever your lifestyle is, you can do 3Es in your own way.Click
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