How to Work Night Shift. Working third shift can be hard to adjust to. The main difficulty is with changing your circadian rhythm. Thankfully there are some. If you work the night shift, it is important to find the workout. Not sure when you should exercise? Wondering what the best time of the day is to work out for maximum results? Here's how to figure it out. Shift work may raise your risk of health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, ulcers, and depression.
How Can I Get Used to Working the Night Shift? Dear Lifehacker. I'm moving to a night shift at work, going in at 5pm and leaving at 3am, and I don't know how to prepare. Is there a good time to sleep or get up, or take meals considering I'll be awake when the sun is down and the rest of the world is asleep? Should I avoid caffeine or eat breakfast at 4pm? Sincerely. Newly Minted Night Owl.
Exercise Health Myths About Running, Jogging, Biking, Marathons, and Triathlons. Click here to read the "Medical Disclaimer." Guidelines for Healthy Exercise.
Dear Owl. Switching from a traditional diurnal schedule to a nocturnal one can be tricky, and it's not for everyone. A lot of people like to think they're night owls and would prefer be productive when the world is sleeping, but when you have to do it for work, it's a whole other story.
Mouth Breathing During Exercise May Increase Your Risk for Asthma and Cardiac Problems. I'm moving to a night shift at work, going in at 5pm and leaving at 3am, and I don't know how to prepare. Is there a good time to sleep or get up, or.
Thankfully, lots of people work third shift or late shifts all the time, and it's not impossible to get accustomed to. Here are some tips that can help. Give Yourself a Head Start.
If you have the option, try easing into your new schedule before it starts. If you're off work for a while before making the change, try the new schedule at home. You'll be able to see how long you'll need to wake up and get ready, and how long your commute will be since traffic and transit will likely be different in the afternoon or evening than the morning. Of course, if your family or loved ones aren't on that same schedule, this may prove difficult, but it could even be an opportunity to see where your schedules will line up.
If you can see when you'll be able to take a meal together or at least talk for a while, you'll be better prepared for the stress of the new schedule, and you won't feel like you're missing out on your personal life because work demands your evenings. Personal time is important, make sure to give it to yourself. Remember what it is you're working for, after all. Make Sure You Get Good, Healthy Sleep. Obviously, one of your biggest challenges is sleep. Unlike the rest of the world, you'll wake when the sun is down and go home when the sun is coming up.
It's unnerving, but you need to make your sleep schedule feel as normal as possible. The same rules that apply to getting a good night's sleep apply to you getting a good . Cut out light and noise, even if that means installing blackout curtains in your bedroom so you can make it as dark as you can. Kill the distractions and try to keep your sleeping space as quiet and comfortable as possible. That means your phone should go on silent, calls should go to voicemail, and your family. Many of us struggle to get enough sleep every night, but is the sleep we get any good? If you need to, make sure you open those curtains as soon as your alarm sounds.
Nothing wakes you up like light does, and exposing yourself to it right after getting up will help you shake off the sleepies. If you have trouble waking up in dark rooms, consider an alarm clock like a Philips Wake Up Light that will gradually brighten the room for you as the time for you to get out of bed approaches. You can even make your own.
When you're headed home after work and know you'll be in bed soon, treat your . Limit the amount of light you're exposed to, and cut back on your screen time. Relax and wind down with a sleep routine that will ease you into restful sleep. It's all too tempting to hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off in the morning.
There's a condition called Shift Work Sleep Disorder where your body just doesn't acclimate to the change and you wind up being restless and weary all the time. They may have additional suggestions, like light sedatives or additional changes for your routine that may help. Eat Regularly and Eat Well. Many people who work late wind up eating terribly. It's an easy trap to fall into, mostly because the only food available at such late hours is the kind of food that you should probably avoid: fast food, junk food. The situation is bad enough that working late can even increase your risk for diabetes.
Thankfully, with a little planning and forethought, it won't be a problem for you. First, make sure you pack your own meals. You're entitled to breaks and a lunch, and you should make sure you take them. Brown- bagging it has never been more important than when you work the late shift.
You'll save money and eat much better. We've covered some great ways to upgrade your brown bag lunch before, and even some containers to make carrying your lunch easier (or more fun). Dear Lifehacker. I'm trying to save money by bringing my lunch to work, but I'm already. It gives you plenty to choose from, and kills the temptation to just say . Oh, and don't forget to stay hydrated. For many of us, even remembering to take lunch is difficult.
Like we mentioned, you should have a wind- down ritual. If you eat a massive meal and then head right to bed you'll have trouble digesting, your sleep will be restless, and it's just an all around bad idea. When it comes to caffeine, the jury is out. Since you'll be more sensitive to sleep disturbances and issues since you're already bucking your body's natural circadian rhythms, you may want to eschew caffeine entirely.
Some doctors will tell you to give it up entirely, but I know I'd have a rough time without my coffee or tea, no matter what time of day it was, and I'm sure more than a few police officers, nurses, and firefighters will tell you they get by through the night with a cup of coffee just fine. It's likely really all about timing, and choosing the amount and timing that works best for you. For all of its wild popularity, caffeine is one seriously misunderstood substance. In some ways, this is even easier than if you worked in the daytime. Exercise is one of the keys to restful sleep and it's fairly obvious why regular exercise is good for your health. Since you'll be at a disadvantage on both fronts, regular activity is even more important for you. Dear Lifehacker. I'm a terribly restless sleeper, and when I wake up, I'm often not well.
At first it might seem like fun to IM or text your friends at night, but over time that feeling of missing out can make you feel alienated. Combine that with bad food, poor sleep, and a lack of light, and you have a recipe for depression or other mental health issues. Make sure you get your vacations, switch up your schedule a little from time to time so you can join everyone else (although it's important to be consistent too), and get plenty of sunlight when it's right for you, usually before work. Consider a lightbox for your workspace. If you have colleagues who also work your shift, talk to them and spend time with them so you don't feel alienated and alone. If you feel yourself sinking, switch off of that shift and/or talk to a professional as soon as possible. It may sound like all of this is advice for anyone working any shift, and to a certain degree that's true.
However, shift workers and people who work nights have the odds stacked against them. It'll be difficult, and it's not for everyone, but as long as you're mindful about it, you can make the best of the change.
Good luck. Lifehacker. Have a question or suggestion for Ask Lifehacker? Send it to tips+asklh@lifehacker. Photos by Oria (Shutterstock) and Open. Clips, Peter Harrison, Tony Alter, Pirate Alice, and whologwhy.
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Ways to Work Night Shift. Make changes gradually. If possible, spend a few nights getting used to any new schedules of sleep. Ideally, you should keep the same sleep schedule consistently. Not all shifts allow for such regularity however, so any changes that do arise should be eased into.
Investment Banking Fitness. If you're new here, please click here to get my FREE 5.
Thanks for visiting! It’s midway through your first year as a banker. You just got back from the holiday party, and after taking a day off to recover from your hangover, you’re ready to rock and roll. You pull out your favorite pair of slacks from the closet, fumbling to put them on. Bill Clinton, former leader of the free world, earned over $1. USD since he left office and that didn’t save him from quadruple bypass surgery.
How to Vanquish the Demons and Lose Fat. You need to combine diet and exercise and modify habits like drinking and how long you sit in your chair. That seems simple, and if you’re not an investment banker, it is – but as a banker, you have a lot of problems that the average dieter never faces. Most fitness advice online assumes that you can work out whenever you want for as long as you want, and that you have infinite time to cook food for yourself. Rather than repeating those unrealistic suggestions, we’re going to focus on specifically what you must do to stay in shape as a banker. The most common problem is fat gain, so that will be the main goal – but the advice here goes beyond that and will address issues like lower back pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, and your overall energy level. Assumptions and Sources & Uses.
I’m assuming that you: Have very little free time (< 4 hours per week) and no flexibility in your schedule. Cannot cook because of this lack of free time. Are often in social situations where you’re pressured to eat junk food and drink alcohol. Care more about losing fat or not gaining fat in the first place than you do about gaining muscle or building endurance (there’s nothing wrong with those, but they’re much harder to pull off as a banker).
Have an inkling of common sense. If you think that donuts are better for you than vegetables, please press Alt + F4 right now.
We’re not going to get into a debate over different diet plans, like Atkins vs. Slow- Carb – the specific details matter far less than following the high- level ideas, which are similar in different plans. I’m also not going to turn this into science class and get into a technical explanation of everything, because that’s off- topic and you can read all about the science elsewhere.
The focus here will be how to avoid getting fat as a banker – through diet, reduction of social pressure, exercise, Starbucks (the lifeblood of any banker), the right kind of bottles, and some secret ingredients. Diet. As a banker, the usual habit is to skip breakfast altogether, get takeout for lunch, and then eat a huge dinner with 2 desserts from Seamless. Web. When you first start, this seems great: you’ve gone from being a starving student to eating steak and tiramisu every day.
The only problem is that you’re also getting fatter every day. Modify this routine by: Eating smaller meals at least 4 times per day – and more if possible. It helps your metabolism. Avoiding Seamless.
Web and similar takeout and going for healthier options. Always eating immediately after you wake up.
What do you eat, and how can you possibly have time for 4 meals per day? First, each meal should have protein, fat, carbohydrates (optional – keep reading), and vegetables, with about half as much fat as the others (since it has twice the calories). Examples that you can easily get at restaurants or from stores like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, with minimal prep time: Sashimi with salad. Chicken salad with olive oil and vinegar. Tofu, beans, and vegetables (the vegetarian option)Egg whites with avocado, cheese, whole wheat bread, and spinach.
Low- fat cottage cheese with nuts and fruit. Sardines and whole wheat crackers. The last 2 are missing vegetables, so you can just add in a mixed salad there. In keeping with the “no science class” rule above, I’m not going to spell out the mix of protein/fat/carbohydrates in each of these but feel free to look up the facts yourself if you’re curious. Use your $2. 0- 3. To take care of breakfast and your snack in between lunch and dinner, you can order extra the night before and save it for the next day, you can run to a store close to your building during a break, or you can use one of my ninja tricks below.
If you do it properly, eating 4x per day takes no more time than eating just 2x because you’re at your desk anyway, and you’re eating food you already have. Wait, Aren’t Carbs Bad? But as a banker, it’s probably not viable to completely cut out carbs because you need the energy for all those all- nighters. So if you can do so, reduce carbs, especially when it’s late at night. But rather than obsessing over that, make sure you avoid anything with sugar – that’s the absolute worst thing you can eat if you want to stay slim. You’ll be pressured into ordering dessert all the time, going to Starbucks constantly, and harvesting as much junk food as possible from your office’s kitchen, so avoiding sugar is easier said than done.
The easiest solution is to use artificial sweeteners, such as stevia, if you need your fix of sweets. These are not great to have in huge quantities either, but in small doses they are much better than real sugar. Social Pressure. As a banker, your co- workers will pressure you into ordering more food than you can possibly eat just to use up your entire dinner allowance. There are 2 ways to deal with this: avoidance and limited acceptance. Avoidance. You could tell them you’re slammed and have no time to take a break and eat – but you don’t want to do that all the time or you’ll end up with no friends. Maybe try this one 2- 3x per week, but don’t rely on it every day or you’ll be excluded from group outings.
Limited Acceptance. For the times when you do have to go eat together, just follow the guidelines above: make sure your meal has a mix of protein, fat, carbs (optional), and vegetables. So if you go out and they say you have to order a steak or they’ll laugh at you, go ahead and do it – just make sure it’s not massive (because you’re eating 3 other times throughout the day) and that it has vegetables on the side.
When it comes time for dessert and drinks, say you need to finish a few more things at work so you can’t drink much, and that you’re too full for dessert because you ate a few hours ago. Exercise. Just like the controversy over carbs and whether or not they’ll turn you into the Pillsbury Dough Boy, another debate rages between cardio (running, swimming, etc.) and strength- training exercises. We’re going to ignore that completely for one simple reason: you do not have time for extended cardio workouts as an investment banker.
You might be called back to the office at any time, on any day of the week, for any reason, so you need to think in 1. So the only option is strength training, for 3 reasons: As mentioned above, you need to get intense exercise in a very short amount of time.
Unlike the equivalent amount of cardio, even a short and intense weight lifting workout will help you burn more calories for over a day if you do it properly. Doing resistance training will help your body absorb more calories and carbs immediately afterward, so you can loosen your dietary restrictions a bit. If you have extra time, sure, go for a run, a bike ride, or go swimming whenever you can.
But if you’re a banker with an unpredictable schedule and almost no free time, you need to do quick but high- intensity strength- training workouts each week for the highest ROI. What to Do At the Gym.
Ideally, you will go to the gym 3 times per week for very quick workouts: I suggest Friday night, early in the day Sunday, and then once more whenever you have time during the week. You are more likely to have free time on Friday night because senior bankers leave earlier – and you’re less likely to be called into the office early on Sunday. A simple plan would be chest and triceps on one day, back and biceps on the next day, and then lower body on your final workout day. Before the powerlifters reading pick apart this plan, remember that I’m assuming no knowledge or previous experience and extremely limited time – so please resist the temptation to argue for something more complicated. If you’re pressed for time, you can condense this to 2 workouts instead and do upper body all on one day and lower body all on the other day – but if you do that, you should leave at least a few rest days in between workouts.
Finding Time to Go to the Gym. This can be tricky, and it depends on how your group operates: you’re best off asking if it’s OK to leave for 3. Don’t ask for permission when you first start working – you should use the first month or two to prove yourself as reliable, and then “make the ask” once the senior bankers know you’re good. If your group is not open enough to discuss non- work issues, then you’ll have to follow my suggestion above and go on Friday and Sunday, and then whenever else you have time in between. That might be 2 AM on a Tuesday – not an ideal time to work out, but far better than doing nothing at all. Oh, and if you’re a female banker you still need to do everything above and focus on strength training: you’re not going to turn into the Incredible Hulk, since male and female bodies react much differently to working out. In fact, arguably females need strength- training.
That means you have only 2 options at Starbucks: americano or espresso. But you could turn this restriction into your advantage by ordering triple espressos all the time to make yourself look hardcore and then say that you need the caffeine for yet another all- nighter. Critics will say that this results in too much caffeine, but that’s far better than having too much sugar: as a banker you must pick the lesser of two evils.
Outside of coffee, you should only drink water (ideally liters per day), tea, and yerba mate (the loose- leaf variety, anything else is too weak).