The 10 years I worked a night job were the years that I picked up the extra weight. Boredom and plenty of trips to the vending machine really packed on the weight. Now I am unemployed, with no snacks, and a regular schedual, I have still been sleeping till noon as though I worked at night, and I can't seem to stop myself. The problem seems to be that I go to bed later no matter what I try to do, i just can't get to sleep until at least 2 or 3 am.
I've decided to work on this by going to bed at 10 pm, even if I have to take a sleeping pill of some kind.
I really believe that whacked out circadian rythems have had something to do with my health situation. I've read that night shift workers usually have worse health simply because they work nights. I don't know if the reason is isolation, or just not sharing in normal society? I know that I do not have many relationships because of this, and some people consider me to be pretty anti-social (even though I do not).
So, today, I woke up at 7 am. I will eventually try to get up at about 6 am., so this is only temporary. Since I am going to school for a job in a field that is a "normal" 9-5 job, I hope that I will never be stuck on another night shift.
Does anyone have a similar situation, or can anyone share any experiences about how working night shift effects dieting?
I definitely think making yourself get up is more important than making yourself go to bed. You'll be able to go to bed more easily when you've been up 18 hours!
I don't know about you, but I find fizzy drinks or even tea and coffee make me stay up all night! So it might be worth trying to cut down on them.
Also try going for long walks to really knacker you out. Not too soon before bed or anything. Also taking a hot bath before when I want to go to bed makes me really sleepy.
I used to work nights a few years back, but I still had to get up for the kids (nursery etc). When I quit the job, it took me ages before I could get into a proper routine. I found just keeping busy and cutting out caffeine at a certain time of night made it easier. Also I ate quite a lot of stodgy foods back then, and they made me sleepy. (not great though if you're trying to lose weight I know)
Perhaps you don't need to jump to going to bed too early (like you said at 10 pm), it may be too much of a change for you. I would probably try going to bed at the same time each day, and perhaps trying to slowly move from 2 a.m. to going to bed at midnight, once that is ok, then at 11:30, 11:00 pm and so on. I think a gradual transition would be best.
If you go to bed at 2 am and you sleep till noon, then I envy you. I wish I could sleep 10 hours in a row!
I worked a 3 to 11 p.m. shift for about 9 months last year and it really is hard on the body, and that wasn't even an overnight job. I was up til 2 or 3 a.m. every night and then got up at noon and got ready and went to work. My diet totally fell apart. I was isolated. I hated it!
When you don't sleep at night different hormones and chemicals in your body that are in part regulated by circadian rhythm (melatonin and cortisol are two), which can lead to health problems.
I really just had to force myself to change my sleeping habits and now get up around 8 a.m. and go to bed around midnight. I feel much better and have more energy. You just have to make yourself get up in the morning, and you'll get too tired to stay up til 3 a.m.
I worked nights (7pm-7am) for over 5 years, and I only recently quit now that I'm pregnant (and I'm not going back to it).
The weight gain and night shifts is for many reasons
- Being too tired to cook
- Access to food during nights is very limited (fast food, vending machine)
- The mentality of "going out/ordering for dinner" seems to happen amongst group night shift workers
- Lack of exercise (my work had a gym, but many people like to walk/run outside, and don't do so at 3am!)
- The constant coffee/cream/sugar that flows!
So many other reasons, too!
While I was single, I had no routine. I was the same as you. When I met my husband, he was very on schedule/early riser. We get up at 6am every morning (even weekends) and are in bed by 8:30pm (even weekends!!), watch our cartoons (yes... we are 26/32!) until 9:30pm and then fall asleep.
The schedule of KNOWING that the routine doesn't change eventually adjusted my body. The first few months of this together was rough - I was very grumpy in the morning. Eventually I adjusted.
I worked a straight night shift (10pm-6:30am) from 2004-2008. It actually wasn't that bad on my weight situation. I was fortunate enough to have a job where I was able to take 1 1/2 hours a night and hit the gym.
My problem now is that work in a job where my schedule rotates: 2 weeks (10pm-6am), 2 weeks (6am-2:45pm), 2 weeks (2:30pm-10:30pm). The main problem I have is only having 2 days every two weeks to adjust my sleep schedule. I'm still hitting the gym 6 days a week, but my meal regimen really suffers. I eat at different times of the day and nothing is on a schedule.
Also my job is very sedentary. I'm a satellite systems engineer and I'm usually stuck behind my desk doing math or working on programs for new satellites. It takes everything I have to walk past the Snickers bars at work and head to the fridge for my yogurt, but somehow I manage to do this. I spent 6 years in the Army and I think my years of training to adapt and overcome has really given me the ability to deal with an extremely crappy schedule.
Transitioning to day work?
