One reason people often state for not loosing as much weight as they would love to, is working nights or having difficulties sleeping at night. If this seems to be one of your present life challenges, you are not alone.
Naturally, we should stay awake during the day and sleep at night. The night rest gives your body time to rest and rebuild. A good night’s sleep ensures your body has enough time to reboot and prepare for all the natural stresses of the day time. If you are not getting adequate rest at night, critical body organs like your brain, liver, adrenals, pancreas,  amongst others are working 24 hours a day. With such a schedule, the body is put at a higher risk for diabetes, cancer, stroke, etc.
Working nights does not make it easy for those who really desire to live a healthy life. Some people have trouble sleeping at night for one reason or another. It is advisable to consult with your doctor if you are having difficulties resting daily. Below are some tips that may be useful to someone who works the night shift.

#1 SET SOME SOLID and SPECIFIC GOALS
State of mind is very crucial in getting results. Setting the mind has to be intentional. It cannot be passive. It is best not to only write down goals, but make sure they are specific. Examples of specific goals include loosing two pounds every week or doing 30mins of cardio three times a week. Write them down.

#2 PLAN TO EAT SMART
Years ago i worked the night shift. I found out that i ate when i was bored, when i saw my coworkers eat and when i was not hungry. Sometimes, i ate to stay awake. Inorder to overcome this particular challenge, you can set several things in place.
*Stock your home with lots of fruits and vegetables
*Plan your meals a day or two ahead
*Always have healthy snacks very handy
*Choose home cooked meals over fast food as often as possible

#3 PLAN TO SLEEP SMART
The importance of sleep to a consistent and productive healthy journey cannot be over emphasized. The key question is,  how do we get more sleep while working nights.
* Invest in dark curtains for your room
*Make sure the room is very dark even before you go to work
*Ask friends and family to only call you during the day if it is an emergency
* Take a nice warm shower as soon as you get home

#4 EXERCISE SMART
It is important to stay active. General activity is great. Intentional exercising is extremely important.
* Plan your exercise days ahead of time
* Workout right before you go to work
* Include some weight lifting in your routine
*Join a serious exercise community or buddy up with someone who is extremely serious about their exercise

#5 PLAN A ROUTINE FOR YOUR DAYS OFF
A lot of night shift workers have 3 days on, 2 days off or 4 days on and 3 days off. The challenge is maintaining healthy routines on off and on days. The best way to overcome this is to actually schedule your off day routines. Become intentional with your activities. You do not have to become a robot. Just make sure you plan. Yes. Plan your bed time, your exercise time, your fun time. Plan!!

What other tips can you offer to night shift workers to help them stay healthy?

Coachkay
WLS, FNS (NASM)

Mashfire