When a person is talking about working evening shift, most people will think ‘Is he a security?’ Well, the fact is nowadays, evening shift doesn’t always related to security because hospital is open 24 hours; it means doctor and nurses should work evening shift as well. Not only medical practitioners, there are also some stores that open 24 hours, restaurants and many more. It is because time is no longer a limit for people to do activities and night is no only time for people to sleep and rest because working evening shift has become one of the routines.
Proper Way to Do Evening Shift
The benefits of working evening shift for health is one of the questions frequently asked. However, are there really the benefits for working at night? Well, night is the time to rest but if it is unavoidable, you should do it in proper way so you could get all the benefits of working evening shift for health.
- You should get enough sleep. Though the need of every person is different.
- Consuming vitamin C benefits regularly or other supplement is essential for you who should work evening shift.
- Proper eating or healthy diet is also essential if you should change your daily routine. However, it is not recommended to snack at night because it will be hard for you to control your weight.
- Lack of sleep could lead to the symptoms of high blood pressure; regular workout is also essential to maintain your cardiovascular health.
- Making sure to keep yourself hydrated while working because dehydration could lead to sleepiness.
Those five things are prominent to remember when you are about to work evening shift. And the list of benefits of working evening shift for health will be listed below.
- Becomes More Focus
When you were a student, you spent more time finishing your thesis or paper at night instead of during the day. It is because working at night gives you more focus because less of distraction. It is also the same when you are working evening shift. You will feel like you could finish your job even faster and more efficient because you have a better focus when no one around and distracts you.
- Good for Weight Loss
If you are currently in a weight loss program, taking some evening shift could help you reach your goal. Working evening shift will limit your access to food, unlike when you are working during the day. Some colleagues may bring some brownies to office that you should receive or some of your friends are calling to have a cup of coffee before lunch time. However, those things won’t happen when you are working evening shift.
- Less Pressure
There are a lot of health risks of stress and one of the benefits you will get when you are working evening shift is less pressure because during the night, people prefer to work alone and social interaction will be super limited. You have no one to boss you around and you have no colleagues to distract you. Less pressure means it is good for your mental health. If you are an introvert, working evening shift will give you more benefits not only for your physical health but also your mental health.
- Increases Productivity
Do you know that working evening shift could help you increasing your productivity as well? It means you have more time during the day to pursue your hobby or learn new thing. Even at night when you are on shift, you could finish your work faster because no one will distract you and you have more time for yourself like reading the book, listening to your favorite music, learning new language through apps and many more. You must be surprised how much achievements you could reach when you work evening shift.
- More Time to Spend with Family
When you work at night, you will have more time during the day. With a good time management, you could have more time to spend with your family or with your friends. Though perhaps it is not easy to find a good time when your family and your friends are working during the day but it is perfect for mothers with children. They could be a mother during the day and a worker at night. If you have a mother who is a nurse who prefers to work evening shift, you will understand how amazing the time you have while your mother is around when you’re growing up.
- Good for Income
Well, better income means better life. It is true that money couldn’t by happiness or your life but you cannot doubt the fact that better income will give you a better life. Most companies or institutions are paying more for workers who work evening shift. It means, you have higher income than those who are working during the day though what they do is the same with what you do during evening shift.
- More Independent
Believe it or not but working evening shift is also able to make you more independent because you are forced to work alone or with limited personnel. You will excel all multi-tasking jobs because you are accustomed to do that every night while at the same time you could learn about priorities and decision making because sometimes you are forced to take action first and report later.
Disadvantages of Working Evening Shift
Well, aside from the benefits, there are also some disadvantages you should aware. Though working evening shift makes you happier but still some points below are important to know.
- The temperature at night is not good for health. That is why working evening shift is not recommended to do in regular basis.
- People who work at night are tending to eat more because night could be really boring. So, if you are not careful, sugar level could spike and before you realize it, you are going to gain weight as well.
- You should have a super good time management if you don’t want to lose your sleeping time. It is not easy to have a peaceful sleep during the day, especially for you who are not living alone. The lack of sleep could lead to dizziness, hypertension and stress.
- Though there are a lot of health benefits of coffee but it is better for you to avoid consuming it too much while working evening shift because the caffeine will make you harder to sleep during the day.
- You should consider the place where you work is secured enough because crimes tend to occur at night. Better income is nothing if doing it will put your life at a threat.
If you can choose; it is better to work during the day and have a good night sleep at night because the health benefits of sleeping at night are more than what you will get when you are sleeping during the day. However, if you have no choice, do your best and enjoy all the benefits while at the same time you should have a good time management, healthy eating habit and work out regularly.