I’m not going to be very popular for sharing this post, but I’m going to share it with you anyway, because I do what I do because I CARE.
This means telling you things that you don’t necessarily WANT to hear, but NEED to.
So, if you’ve got into the habit of relying on caffeine to ward off your tiredness, in lieu of prioritising your sleep, over time, this can lead you down a very slippery slope.
A slippery slope towards developing a chronic disease like Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM).
One of many health conditions, sadly, that shift workers are prone to developing.
This can be due to a myriad of resaons, but I’m going to touch on TWO KEY AREAS.
Number 1 – Not getting enough quality sleep (AKA the life of a shift worker) can make you feel hungrier, causing you to eat bigger meals and/or more often, leading to elevated blood sugar levels.
Number 2 – Caffeine spikes your blood sugar levels as it triggers the release of the stress hormone, adrenaline, which signals the liver and muscles to release stored glucose into the body.
This helps to give you that feeling of an “energy boost”, however, just like insufficient quality sleep, chronically elevated levels of glucose in the blood can, over time, lead to pre-diabetes, and eventually T2DM.
So I totally get that tiredness is a massive challenge whilst working around the clock.
It’s why shift workers MUST, MUST prioritise their sleep!
However, instead of reaching for that habitual cup of coffee or energy drink as soon as you peel yourself out of bed, or step foot into your workplace – pour yourself a glass (or preferably two) of filtered water to replenish your cells that have become dehydrated whilst sleeping.
Because apart from sleep deprivation, dehydration is one of the leading CAUSES OF FATIGUE, and given caffeine is a diuretic (meaning it removes water from the body), topping the body up WITH WATER, instead of removing it, will go a long way in helping you to feel semi-refreshed for your shift!
Audra x
References:
Gan, Y et. al 2015, ‘Shift work and diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of observational studies’, Occupational Environmental Medicine, vol. 72, pp. 72-78.
Shi, X et. al 2016, ‘Acute caffeine ingestion reduces insulin sensitivity in healthy subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis’, Nutrition Journal, vol. 15, no. 103, pp. 1-8.
P.S: Want to learn more strategies to help reduce your risk factors for developing a chronic disease whilst working 24/7? Check out my ‘21-Day Healthy Shift Worker Kickstart Program’ by CLICKING HERE.
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