You’ve had a long day. Your Graet New stomach is rumbling, and you’re exhausted. What’s the first thing you grab to eat? Most likely, it’s a microwave meal, a takeaway, or perhaps a plateful of chips. Or maybe “a lot of cake,” as one library assistant who participated in our survey of public and voluntary sector professionals responded when asked how stress and long hours had impacted her life.
It’s not just mealtimes at home that are affected. The survey found that 19% did not take a break during the day, while 23% had between zero and 15 minutes for the day’s main break. Combined with the fact that many professionals in the sector work in shift patterns and that stress is such a big problem, it’s no wonder that many who responded talked of overeating, digestion problems, weight gain, eating on the run, snacking, and comfort eating.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said this is typical of what the union’s members tell them. He says: “Not everyone’s job allows them to take lunch in the canteen or at their desks simultaneously every day. Home-care staff whose working day is spent mostly on the road traveling between the homes of people they care for find it hard to grab five minutes to themselves, let alone take a 30-minute lunch break.”
The union believes employers should take responsibility for ensuring their staff can eat healthily despite their schedules. Prentis says: “Employers who need staff to work unsociable hours must ensure that decent catering facilities are available around the clock. Employers aren’t just responsible for the safety of their staff, but for their wellbeing too.
Unions can work with managers to ensure sufficient staffing levels to allow employees to take a lunch break and encourage healthy eating by offering those choices in workplace canteens, too.” He adds, “Subsidised gym membership or workplace sessions on nutrition and exercise can also help keep fit and well at work.
As we move towards a 24-hour society, the numbers of those working in shifts are set to increase. Consequently, researchers are turning their attention to the health patterns of these workers, and it’s not good news for their long-term health. Ayala Spiro, the senior nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, explains the potential risks. She says: “Research has suggested that shift work is associated with greater risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.
While it’s unknown exactly why this is the case, researchers believe that three aspects of shift work could contribute. Shift work disrupts the circadian rhythm (the body clock) that regulates metabolic and cardiovascular systems. It can also hurt diet and exercise and impact the quality and quantity of sleep.
Many of those who responded to the survey mentioned problems that those who work very long hours face due to lack of sleep. Unsurprisingly, this affects appetite as workers turn to high-energy (often unhealthy) snacks to keep them going when their energy dips. Vending machines stocked with crisps and chocolate may be the only catering service for those working at night.
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This response from a civil servant was typical: “[Stress] affects sleep and also means I do not eat healthily as I am always running to catch up; I have put on weight through eating snacks while I work, or sugar bursts for energy.”
With just a little pre-preparation, unhealthy snacks can be avoided. Spiro recommends these dietary tips combined with exercise and better sleep for those working in the public sector:
- Regular light meals or snacks are less likely to cause drowsiness or affect alertness than a single heavy meal. Avoid large meals one to two hours before your main sleep.
- Prepare food at home to avoid problems with limited workplace catering and unhealthy snack options.
- Choose healthy, filling foods that are a good energy source, micronutrients, and fiber and release glucose relatively slowly into the bloodstream. Good choices include potatoes with skins and baked potatoes and adding pulses like beans, lentils, or chickpeas to stews, curries, soups, and salads. Hearty vegetable or bean soups can be kept in a thermos flask.
- You should bring snacks such as fruit, vegetable sticks, rye crackers, oatcakes, unsalted nuts, or seeds with you.
- Drink lots of fluids, which is important as dehydration can increase tiredness and decrease performance.
- Reduce your intake of caffeine, such as coffee or energy drinks. Caffeine is often used as a stimulant, but excessive consumption can have side effects. It should not be consumed for up to four hours before the end of a shift.
- Avoid alcohol. Some people also use alcohol to sleep, but it lowers the quality of sleep, and persistent use can also increase dependence.
