6 tips to improve your sueño in shift workers

What you can do to improve your sleep when you work in shifts is to maintain a regular rhythm of 8 hours of rest, being able to resort to things that help you relax when you need to sleep, such as valerian, or taking a melatonin supplement, el cual, despite not inducing el sueño, helps to improve its quality, ensuring better disposition to carry out daily activities.

Also, it is very important to have between 5 and 6 meals a day, making it possible to ingest the maximum amount of nutrients in each meal, but without exaggerating the calories to avoid weight gain and the risk of diabetes, which are more frequent in quienes we do not have regular hours to eat, sleep and work.

Some tips to improve the sueño and the quality of life of who works in shifts are:

1. Sleep at a fixed time

As normally the working hours vary from one week to the next, what you can do is make a plan to know what time to sleep, so you can guarantee the rest you need for your body and your mind. A good example of plans:

After having worked in the night shift, it is normal that even having slept for the recommended 8 hours, the person wakes up with a sueño and is a little more tired the next day, but this sensation disappears throughout the day.

2. Not drinking coffee 3 hours before bed

Whenever you are close to the time of rest, which can be in the morning or in the afternoon, depending on the time of day when you work, avoid drinking drinks or foods that make it difficult to eat, such as hot coffee, chocolate , energy drinks or pepper, can make the person awake and active.

These foods should preferably be consumed during the work shift to provide more energy; However, they must be avoided 3 hours before the end of the shift.

Find a complete list of these foods that cook in the sueño.

3. Guarantee a quality sueño

Whenever possible, the ideal is to sleep at home or in the place of work, trying to have a dark, silent and comfortable room, you can help to reconcile the sleep faster and avoid waking up several times when trying to sleep.

Taking a relaxing bath or drinking a yoke or until it has calming properties could help. Among the best options are the yoke of maracuyá and los tés of manzanilla, lavender or valerian, for example. If you don’t want to or don’t have time to prepare these yokes and teats, you can choose to take a natural remedy in capsules that contains these ingredients.

Find out more advice to help ensure a good night’s sleep:

4. Take melatonin

The melatonin supplement is a good option to help maintain a repairing sweat, this supplement works to improve the quality of the sweat, but does not induce it. Generally, a tablet of 3 or 5 mg before bed is enough to have a good temperature, however, it is important that it is indicated by the doctor, because it can interact with another medication that can be used.

Melatonin is a good option for those who suffer from insomnia, but if you don’t want to or you can’t take medication against it, it could cause dependence.

Learn more about the benefits of melatonin.

5. Sleep during the shift

Some professionals, such as nurses, make it easy to take a siesta during the shift, being a possibility when you are very tired and work allows it. But when it is not possible, the person should prepare himself in advance, sleeping for at least 3 hours before starting work, so he could help to stay awake.

6. Eat well

Adequate food is also important to stay awake when you need to work. The foods must be distributed well, being harmful to eat between meals frequently. The last meal before bedtime should be light to avoid indigestion and the feeling of stomach heaviness, and the first after waking up should contain stimulating foods, such as chocolate, coffee and bread, for example. See what you eat if you work at night.

What can happen with who works in shifts

Whoever works in shifts can be very difficult to maintain fixed hours for eating or sleeping and, for this reason, has greater possibilities of suffering from the following problems:

• swine problems, as an insomnia crisis or excessive sleepiness, which occurs due to the fact that the hours of work coincide with the usual phase of the sweat, which can lead to an exaggerated use of sleeping pills;
• gastric problems that affect the stomach and/or the intestine, such as gastritis or diarrhea, since there are no regular times to eat;
• menstrual delays, due to hormonal alterations;
• Psychological problems, like anxiety and depression;
• heart diseases, such as infarction and stroke;
• Type 2 diabetes and obesity;
• Cancer, mainly lung and breast.

In addition to these consequences, the lack of regular rest increases the risk of having accidents and can disturb family life; For this reason it is so important to know what to eat and what time to sleep to guarantee the quality of life, reducing all these risks.