Shift work - tips for training & nutrition

A regular daily routine is not only an enormous advantage in general, but also of considerable importance for our hobby, weight training, in order to achieve optimal results in terms of muscle building or fat loss. However, those who work in shifts and have to organize their lives accordingly flexibly do not exactly have it easy in terms of both training planning and fitness-oriented nutrition. We would like to take this circumstance as an opportunity to give you some tips in this article that will help you achieve good results despite shift work.

Our natural biorhythm

From an evolutionary point of view, our entire organism is designed to move in constant harmony with the diurnal cycle, which makes perfect sense since we, too, are basically nothing more than a species of diurnal mammals. According to this fact, our body is designed to reach its maximum performance under the influence of sunlight and to reduce it again with the onset of dusk. This is due to chemical reactions on a hormonal level that are triggered by the presence or absence of light and influence our metabolism. For example, while serotonin, which is released during the day, makes us feel fit and energetic, the release of melatonin, which is triggered by a reduction in light intensity, has the exact opposite effect and prepares our organism for a good night's sleep. Disturbance of the hormone level or the day-night rhythm can lead to a dull mood, headaches and disturbed digestive activity. Such symptoms are naturally widespread in our latitudes, especially in winter, because the sun shines much less long and intensively in autumn and winter than in summer or spring. The classic winter depression is also due to this cause.

A vampire life as a result of shift work

In our modern world, however, our biorhythms are no longer controlled by the cosmos as they were thousands of years ago, but by duty and shift schedules that make many of us practice a life model that is hardly inferior to that of a vampire. Even though you might think that missed night sleep can easily be made up for during the day, this is not really the case. Numerous studies confirm that sleep under the influence of daylight in combination with the shifted internal clock is significantly less restful than the biologically programmed sleep at night. In reality, this leads to permanent daytime fatigue in many shift and night workers, the symptoms of which are at least temporarily eliminated with caffeine other pick-me-ups. More alarming, however, are the long-term consequences that permanent disruption of natural processes can have. Studies suggest a causal link between shift work and the development of diabetes, depression, cardiovascular disease and a significantly increased susceptibility to injury. The natural reflex at this point would naturally be to ban night work and, as a consequence, to hang up one's job. Obviously, however, this is not possible, since criminals, emergencies or nuclear power plants cannot be paused overnight.

How you can still get a handle on the problem

It's obvious that you can't just throw your duty schedule out the window. Consequently, you only have the possibility to prepare yourself as well as possible for your shift work by optimizing the factors that you can actually influence. The most important factor in this context is, of course, restful sleep, as this serves to maintain the health of the entire organism. In order to achieve the best possible quality of sleep during the day, you should sleep in a completely darkened room and also keep the other shutters closed in your home, so that your organism is not irritated by daylight when you go to the toilet, for example, and the sleep hormone melatonin is broken down. It is also helpful to purchase dimmable lighting. If possible, you can do the same at your workplace. The only difference is that the light source used should be as light-intensive as possible and as strong as possible in terms of light intensity (lux) in order to largely prevent melatonin formation.

What you should pay attention to in your diet

Since your body can't be completely fooled despite all the measures you've taken, it also requires some adjustments in the area of nutrition and training. Due to the fact that your digestion doesn't work as well during the night as it does during the day, for example, you should only eat easily digestible foods that don't put too much strain on your digestive tract before and during your shift. It's also important to drink enough fluids to keep your circulation going and your cognitive processes running as smoothly as possible. For this purpose, you can of course also resort to caffeinated drinks. However, avoid consuming them two to three hours before you want to go to bed, as this significantly reduces the quality of sleep. If you still have problems falling asleep, you can consult a doctor and ask for melatonin supplements to help you sleep. Apart from that, alcohol should be taboo both the day after your night shift and the day before. Your body already has enough to do to get your metabolic processes back under control.

Sample snacks that are easy to digest:

• Greek yogurt
• Low-fat curd cheese
• Peanut butter with rice cakes
• Hummus with vegetables
• Fish and white rice
• Salad with a low fat dressing
• Dried fruit
• Cottage cheese with jam
• Tender oatmeal with a scoop of protein powder

With power into the night shift

If you want to start your night shift really energized, there's no better solution than to do a little workout session just before, which will really push your circulation up again. The following power workout is based on a giant set approach, which means that all exercises are performed in one piece without a break. After a total of three to four sets, you should definitely be fit for work.

Power Workout

• Squats - 10 repetitions
• Jack Squats - 10 repetitions
• Lunges with dumbbells - 10 repetitions per leg
• Walking Lunges - 10 repetitions per leg
• V-Crunches with legs raised - 10 repetitions