Healthy (er) life with irregular working hours
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Irregular working has a huge impact on your life. Not only do you sleep irregularly and therefore often too short, but there are also far-reaching consequences for your food, your meal times, your way of eating and also the type of food.
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Irregular working has a huge impact on your life. Not only do you sleep irregularly and therefore often too short, but there are also far-reaching consequences for your food, your meal times, your way of eating and also the type of food. [! 187234 => 1140 = 1!] In general, this is not the healthiest thing you might normally eat. There are also consequences for your movement. Exercise, ie sports, is necessary for a healthy body that can function optimally. But there is often not time for that with irregular work. You often do not even start a team sport, because you cannot attend all training sessions. Running with a partner is also difficult, because it is difficult to make agreements. And only… well, it's very easy not to.
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In general, this is not the healthiest thing you might normally eat. There are also consequences for your movement. Exercise, ie sports, is necessary for a healthy body that can function optimally. But often there is not time for that with irregular work. You often don't even start a team sport, because you cannot attend all training sessions. Running with a partner is also difficult, because it is difficult to make agreements. And only… well, it's very easy not to.
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And what about the consequences for your social life? Birthdays you miss, parties you can't attend, meeting friends for a night out is difficult.
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11 minMain dishpeanut oil, tofu stir-fry cubes finely seasoned, stir fry sauce sweet and sour, thick noodles, carrot julienne, beetroot julienne, yellow bell pepper, watercress,rainbow salad with tofu -
45 minMain dishRed cabbage, mild olive oil, quinoa plus, forest outing, lemon, sesame oil, soy sauce less salt, Bio Today tahini white in pot, tap water,grilled red cabbage with quinoa salad -
30 minDessertBrie, Roquefort, port salut, gruyere, Camembert, walnut, garlic, thyme, honey, grape, baguette, Red onion, red grape, raisins, Red wine, Red wine vinegar, Brown sugar,generous cheese plate with onion marmalade -
30 minDessertFull Milk, whipped cream, macaroon, custard powder, vanilla sugar, sugar, protein, amaretto, almond liqueur, basic recipe cooking pears,macaroon pastry with casserole
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Irregular working hours have a lot of impact on all aspects of your life. How do you deal with this? How can you fit all this in so that it doesn't affect your health?
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Let's elaborate on all these consequences of irregular working:
Irregular working hours and plenty of sleep
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Irregular working hours in most cases means that you sleep when someone else is at work. This has a major influence on your biological clock, which after a while does not understand anything at all. You can compare this with constant jet lag. Because of the irregular sleep you often cross the daily routine of your family (difficult due to noise from children, for example) and you often sleep during the day, when the sun is shining full on your bedroom window.
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5 minDrink without alcoholbananas, cool fresh apple-pear raspberry juice, Soy drink vanilla,soy fruit shake -
20 minMain dishsauerkraut, sticking potato, liquid baking product, half-to-half minced, Spice meatballs, pineapple, olive oil, liquid baking product,gratin sauerkraut dish with minced meat -
40 minMain dishlemongrass, fresh ginger, Red peppers, onions, tomato cubes, fresh cod fillet, coriander, oil, ground turmeric (koenjit), coconut milk, salt,fish in creamy coconut sauce -
15 minSide dishsweet potato, soft goat cheese, egg, spring / forest onion,stuffed sweet potato with egg
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The direct consequence of this is that you often lack sleep. Sleep deprivation in particular can have far-reaching consequences for your health. Many health problems in people who work irregularly can be directly linked to the result of sleep deprivation. There is also an increased risk of heart disease.
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Lack of sleep also inevitably leads to a daily feeling of tiredness, especially at the end of the shift. This leads to concentration problems and thus an increased risk of accidents.
Irregular working hours and healthy eating
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One of the biggest problems with irregular working hours is food. Of course you know that you have to eat healthy, even during irregular shifts, but that is easier said than done. During the shifts, many employees are dependent on takeaways and the snack and candy machines. We cannot call these solutions very healthy.
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20 minMain dishTasty vine tomato, (olive oil, fresh basil, onion, garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, zucchini spaghetti, pumpkin spaghetti, mini buffalo mozzarella,lukewarm pumpkin and zucchini spaghetti -
15 minSide dishtraditional olive oil, curry powder, wheat flour, coconut milk, sambal oelek, chicken broth tablet, water, fresh mango,curry sauce with mango -
30 minMain dishtraditional olive oil, lean ground beef, frozen Mexican wok vegetables, salsa sauce mild, taco shell, grated young cheese, creme fraiche,Mexican vegetable in tacos -
95 minMain dishmaize chicken, lemon, coarse sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, thyme, zucchini, tomatoes (small to), black olives without pit,provençal chicken with zucchini and tomatoes
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Another problem is your biological clock. In many cases, your metabolism does not function properly when you have to eat. As a result, you don't feel like it the moment you get up. And then you have a huge appetite after your shift. The opposite can also happen. Continuous from the moment you get up, and no longer feel like eating after your shift. So you often have to eat at times when you are actually not hungry. As a result, fats and sugars are not properly absorbed by the body. And if you eat just before going to sleep, your body can no longer do anything with the energy you have taken. Your digestive system also goes to sleep at that moment.
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Another problem is your biological clock. In many cases your metabolism does not function properly when you have to eat. As a result, you don't feel like it the moment you get up. And then you have a huge appetite after your shift. The opposite can also happen. Continuous from the moment you get up, and no longer feel like eating after your shift. So you often have to eat at times when you are actually not hungry. As a result, fats and sugars are not properly absorbed by the body. And if you eat just before going to sleep, your body can no longer do anything with the energy that you have taken. Your digestive system also goes to sleep at that moment.
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All in all, it is extremely difficult to maintain a healthy weight if you work irregular hours.
Irregular working hours and plenty of exercise
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Exercise is very important, we all know that. But if you have irregular working hours, this will be a bit more difficult to organize. For example, working irregularly means that it is very difficult to register for a team sport. After all, you are not always there, so you let your team down at that moment. Making appointments with friends can also be difficult, especially if that friend also has irregular working hours. Then try to find a gap in the agenda. One solution is to exercise alone, but that is also difficult. Too easy to say, â € œNot nowâ € â €
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Exercise is very important, we all know that. But if you have irregular working hours, this will be a bit more difficult to organize. For example, working irregularly means that it is very difficult to register for a team sport. After all, you are not always there, so you let your team down at that moment. Making appointments with friends can also be difficult, especially if that friend also has irregular working hours. Then try to find a gap in the agenda. One solution is to exercise alone, but that is also difficult. Too easy to say, â € œNot right nowâ € â €
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Yet there is a great need to keep moving, to exercise. By exercising regularly you keep your body healthy and the risk of cardiovascular disease is much lower. It also burns the body fat that you store at â € more unhealthyâ € ™ moments.
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Yet there is a great need to keep moving, to exercise. By exercising regularly you keep your body healthy and the risk of cardiovascular disease is much lower. It also burns the body fat that you store in 'more unhealthy' moments.
Irregular working hours and your social life
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Part of your social life is also put on the back burner if you work irregularly. You cannot always be on every birthday, and if you have a night shift and you make a social visit first, this is also not really conducive to concentration during the night. When your social life is on the back burner, there is a very clear danger that you will become isolated. You live in your own â € bubbleâ € ™ with your irregular working hours. Social isolation can lead to a bad mood and depression.
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Your intimate life can also get a dip. Working night shifts also means that you have to find other times to be with your partner. Not just to just spend time together and exchange thoughts, but also sexually.
Conclusions and recommendations
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From a recent study that there is a very clear link between obesity and irregular shifts. It cannot always be avoided, but therefore an extra reason to work very consistently with this. Irregular working hours means that you have to put more energy into organizing your social life, your intimate life, your sports, your eating and sleeping patterns.
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What are your experiences with irregular shifts? Do you have other solutions or tips?