Monday, November 5, 2012

Top 10 health tips if you work in night shifts

1.    Regulate body clock – We are all logically planned to wake up with the sun and sleep after dark. So if in case you are new to the night shift you might be feeling active in the day and sleepy at night. Doggedly maintain to the similar time of waking up and sleeping each day so that body gets the message and will gradually however certainly shift your internal clock to go with the new timings.

2.    Balanced Diet – Majority of people those who works in night shift have one or two meals at workplace. The risk at this point is of overstuffing yourself as food is readily available. If you’re working the night shift it’s finest to have light meals that are rich in protein and fibre and low in sugar and fat.

3.   Proper rest in day time – Once you get back home, you are probably so exhausted that you straightway get into bed. However you should spend few minutes to make sure that you get some uninterrupted sleep. Draw the curtains to lock out the sunlight as much as feasible and put your cell phone on silent mode or switch it off. Please make sure that your pillow supports your neck and the mattress isn’t uncomfortable. A monotonous noise like an air conditioner or overhead fan acts as a noise buffer & generates white noise, which supports sleep.

4.     Sleeping strategy – Always try to grab a big portion of sleep in single go (at least for 5-6 hours). If you divide your sleep in several smaller pieces, you won’t be as rested as if you had slept at one single stretch.

5.     Monitor your snacking habit – A lot of people working in night shift have sitting jobs & mostly in front of computers. In order to keep your facial muscles on the go by means of chewing may appear like fun but you are without knowing consuming a lot of calories in this practice. So if you must munch, you should avoid chocolates, fried stuff & chips & instead of that you should carry a fruit or puffed rice which is having much lower calorie count.

6.    Scientific Principles – Whilst sitting at your workplace, keep some scientific principles in mind to keep yourself in proper shape. Make sure that the top of your monitor is at or below eye level, it will help lubricating your peepers. Each hour look away at a far-away object for a minute to stay away from straining the eye muscles. Good sitting posture at work will take you a long way to being fit. Your backbone has the load of supporting your whole body so treat it very carefully. Avoid slouching on chairs while sitting; make sure your lower limbs support your back. You can do this by making sure that your feet touch the floor or you can also use a footboard if you are on the shorter side. A small cushion plays a vital role for lower back to give an additional support.

7.   Water intake – Whilst you are working in an air-conditioned office it is essential to maintain water intake so that your skin doesn’t lose moisture and even minor dehydration can stop you from performance at your best. So always keep a water bottle at your desk and drink abundantly. Please remember that beverages like tea & coffee dehydrate your body so minimize their intake. Have milk or green tea instead. Sipping warm water is really a good suggestion as warmness keeps colds at bay.

8.    Be attentive – If you are feeling sleepy, there is a simple technique is to get up & go for a short  walk. You can also keep sugar free chewing gum & mints handy.

9.    Stick to the schedule ­– Make s schedule when you are going to sleep & when you are going to wake up. Sticking to the schedule will allow you to become acclimatized to going to sleep during the day in the morning.

        10. Regular health checks – It is important to visit your Doctor at least once in a year even if you are        not having any health issues. Include your physician’s suggestions for your particular lifestyle thoroughly. Most of the people gain weight whilst working in night shift so there should be some sort of physical activity like walk for at least half an hour on daily basis.

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