These days the trend of working in night shift is increasing. During this time people eat many kinds of things when they are hungry. But, in a recent research, scientists have said that people working in night shifts should eat light snacks instead of eating heavy meals at night.
Heavy eating leads to sleep:
Researchers at the University of South Australia have conducted research for the first time that analyzes how eating affects work performance during work. They found that it is better to have a light snack for those working in the night shifts than heavy meals like sandwiches or curries. Scientists said that people who eat light snacks in the night shift react quickly under any circumstances and conversely, those who eat heavy food tend to sleep.
During this research, cheese crackers and snacks were given to the participants. Millions of people working in the shift complain that their diet has deteriorated due to eating at night. Research has shown that nurses who work mostly in late shifts are more likely to be obese. This is due to deterioration of the body’s biological clock and poor choices of food.
Many companies and industries depend on employees to work round the clock. He said, we know that the people working in the night shift eat food in the shift so that they stay awake. However, so far no research has shown whether it is good or bad for their health and performance. This is the first study showing how employees feel after eating different types of food and how they perform.
The research, published in the journal Nutrients, studied 44 healthy participants. These participants did not work in the night shift. They were divided into three types of teams. He was kept awake overnight in the lab and asked to sleep during the day. All groups consumed 1900 to 2600 calories within 24 hours, but each had different eating times. One group was given a heavy meal at midnight and one group was served breakfast at midnight, such as an apple with snacks, crackers, muesli bars.
The researcher said, we conducted several performance tests from the participants. The participants rated their hunger levels, stomach response and sleepiness. Midnight snacks participants felt more active than the other two groups.
Performed better in tasks
Researcher said, the midnight snackers were reacting fast. We gave them a driving test and they were driving safely so there were fewer accidents. The group that did not eat anything at night were more active than the heavy eaters. However, the group that had breakfast did much better than both groups.
Do not miss food during the day
Eating heavy during the day also leads to sleep, but researchers say do not skip food during the day and do not replace breakfast. The researcher said that heavy food is easily digested during the day and this causes the problem of sleeping soon to end. It is only caused by our biological clock. At the same time, our body cannot digest heavy food at night, so breakfast is a better option.
