[nickilaughs]

Id posted a couple weeks ago regarding my calorie consumption and if I needed to up it.
Now I'm concerned because this is the third time in the last week I woke up around 3 am hungry. I toss and turn until 7 or 8 then give up and eat. I usually sleep til 9 or 10 because of my swing shift schedule. On work nights i eat a small meal after work around midnight. But on these other nights i go to bed around 10p and eat a normal dinner around 7p. Any advice? I'm dreading my 12 hr shift today where I lost a decent chunk of sleep because of hunger.
Thanks !

[maja24]

I really think this is a mental thing rather than your body truly signalling hunger. Are the nights that you sleep at 10 and the nights that you sleep later regular from week to week? If so, you have to train your mind by sticking to not having a midnight snack no matter what. Maybe you can start by having a slightly heavier than normal dinner at 7pm. Is there anyway you can eat your dinner on the job so you're not eating after work around midnight? I think once you have established some consistency, it should stop. If it persists, then maybe you should see a doctor.

[nickilaughs]

The nights vary each week. Sometimes i can eat before i leave work, but its an ER, its unpredictable. I usually go home and just eat a little egg salad.
The issue is not being able to get back to sleep for hours. I don't mind being hungry, but the grumbling stomach and hunger pains keeps me awake, even with a sleeping pill.
This is a new development. I've been on my weight loss journey for 4 months.

[Penny105]

I used to get the same thing. I'd wake up seemingly randomly and feel very hungry, which often lead to overeating. It made me nuts.

I solved it by eating a later dinner, at most 2 hours before going to bed. That seemed to do the trick for me.

[SenseAndSensibility]

When my husband worked funny shifts, from nights to mornings to afternoons, if he really needed to sleep and couldn't train his body he would take a little melatonin before. Melatonin is supposed to be the naturally occurring thing in your body that triggers sleep, you just have to use it when you can for sure get eight hours of sleep.

Not saying medication is the best option, its just a possibility.

[nickilaughs]

Thanks! I already take melatonin daily, and sometimes benadryl, and if I'm really desperate unisom. I just was wondering how other mid shifters do their diets. I ended up eating at 8 and going back to bed for another hour. Just hadn't encountered that before and was wondering if the cycling I started doing was upping my needs for calories. We will play it out and see how it goes.