Intermittent Fasting for Shift Workers: Benefits and Challenges

Intermittent fasting has emerged as a popular diet thanks to its purported health benefits. Fasting plans work differently for each individual, as these depend on a score of factors such as lifestyle, sleep patterns, occupation, and existing health conditions. Hence, all these aspects must be considered before starting a fasting regimen.

This article aims to provide comprehensive information on how intermittent fasting could impact shift workers and whether or not they should try it. Before getting into details, let’s understand the meaning of intermittent fasting and how it works.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting involves eating meals within a certain period, known as the “feeding window,” and fasting during the day’s remaining hours. Intermittent fasting has varied, flexible schedules you can choose from.

Some people adopt 24 hours of fasting once or twice a week, while others follow either the 5:2 diet or the 16/8 method of intermittent fasting. The 16/8 has evolved as one of the most common forms of intermittent fasting and is relatively easy for beginners.

Can Intermittent Fasting be Combined with Shift Work?

Working patterns have changed over time; today, many people have erratic working hours. So should people working in various shifts practice intermittent fasting? 

Altering working hours is physically and mentally challenging and demands meticulous planning, including diet. Read on to learn how to combine your shift schedule with intermittent fasting.

Here are a few things to remember when practicing intermittent fasting on shift work:

Start Slow

A gentle start can help your body cope with the changes. Shift work, whether night or double shifts, can be stressful for your body. Hence, it is best to allow your body to get acclimated to the changes you will introduce in the form of intermittent fasting. You can choose from a range of IF plans, including 14/10 or 16/8. If you think fasting on weekends is better, try the 5/2 plan.

Use the Flexibility of Intermittent Fasting to Your Advantage

Intermittent fasting does not involve strict diet plans or rigid timing. You can choose a plan based on your convenience. The best way to intermittent fast is to follow a suitable method for your schedule. Do you want to sleep through your fast, or is your shift time more convenient? The choice is yours to make.

Avoid Junk Food

Shift work can put your mind and body under stress and often cause unnecessary cravings. Eating junk food will restrict your body from burning glucose or sugar, simultaneously impacting your weight loss goals. Studies reveal that poor food choices and wrong eating timings can create metabolic complications such as impaired glucose tolerance among shift workers. [1]

Prep For The Fast

Once you’ve chosen your preferred time of fasting, plan your meals. Although no strict diet is recommended during intermittent fasting, stick to pre-cooked meals, healthy snacks, and calorie-free drinks.

It is recommended to avoid caffeine and hard-to-digest food before going to bed. Moreover, eating smaller meals during the eating window instead of large meals can keep your gastrointestinal tract happy.

Stay Hydrated

Besides food, water is also vital for the body to complete daily activities [2]. Drinking water to keep yourself hydrated helps maintain the body’s natural electrolyte balance, even when fasting.

Consider ditching sweetened beverages like tea and coffee, and opt for water to help your body eliminate toxins and stay energized. Regular water intake during intermittent fasting on shift duties can prevent headaches and help flush out toxins.

If you aren’t sure about how much water you should be drinking, check out our water intake calculator to determine your ideal daily water consumption.

Pros of Intermittent Fasting for Shift Workers

Intermittent fasting is known to be advantageous for shift workers in several ways. Among the better-known benefits of intermittent fasting are the following:

Alleviates the Negative Effects of Irregular Sleep

Shift work can disturb your natural sleep-wake cycle, putting a lot of stress on your body and mind. This can be regulated with intermittent fasting, which can help regularize your eating and sleeping patterns. [3]

Promotes Healthy Weight and Weight Shifting

Shift workers are at an increased risk of developing obesity due to disrupted circadian rhythms. Intermittent fasting can be used as a strategy to promote weight loss. [4]

Regulates Your Body’s Sugar Levels

Studies indicate a circadian rhythm correlation between blood sugar levels and night shift workers. [5, 6] 

Intermittent fasting can help beat the ill effects of stress and a sedentary lifestyle emerging from tiring shift duties. Further, it can control sugar levels and prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Here are a few more benefits of IF for shift workers:

• IF supports a healthy inflammation response by enabling your gut to take a break from continuous food digestion.
• It can lower bad cholesterol and promote heart health. [7]
• IF may support cognitive health and slow the onset of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. [8]

Stressful shifts can contribute to bad cholesterol accumulation in the body. Intermittent fasting can result in a metabolic switch that breaks down triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol. Moreover, it can convert fatty acids to ketones, providing energy to your cells and tissues during fasting. Hence, it can reduce cholesterol.

Drawbacks of Intermittent Fasting

Night shifts interfere with the natural sleep cycle, increasing the risk of several medical problems. While intermittent fasting can come to the rescue, not knowing the right way can also be harmful.

Skipping Meals Can Cause Headaches and Nausea

Shift work can be draining, and intensive intermittent fasting could lower your blood sugar levels and leave you feeling lightheaded or nauseous. Your body might need time to adjust to new eating and fasting patterns. If it’s your first time practicing intermittent fasting, it is recommended that you consult an expert to ensure safety. Moreover, it will help you understand whether it is the right fasting method to take up if you have any underlying medical conditions.

Possibility of Disordered Eating Habits

A diet that encourages skipping meals or restrictive eating can trigger cravings. Although intermittent fasting does not set any restrictions on your diet during the eating phase, not eating the right kind of food or indulging in junk food can pile on and impact your long-term eating habits.

During the eating window, you must ensure you consume enough calories to meet your daily basic nutrient requirements. Consuming unhealthy foods during your eating window not only hinders progress toward your weight management goals and can lead to nutritional deficiencies, weakened immunity, and disruption to your body’s natural balance.

How Intermittent Fasting Helps If You Work in Varying Shifts

Intermittent fasting can have health benefits for most people aiming at weight management. If you work the night shift, focusing on your health may become increasingly important. After all, night shifts are not ideal for the body, and fasting could help you protect your health while enabling weight loss.

Finding healthy options to eat at night could also be challenging. Hence, sticking to intermittent fasting schedules such as 16:8 can work wonders. Here’s how.

• Fasting can help you counter the negative metabolic effects of working through the wee-hour shifts. It can help control your body composition, lose fat, and maintain lean mass.
• Fasting can have a positive impact on insulin resistance and help prevent some of the ill effects of working late-night shifts. [9]
• Late-night shifts can also increase stress levels, triggering rapid aging. Intermittent fasting can enhance your growth hormone levels and enable you to combat the effects of aging. [10]
• With intermittent fasting, you can experience increased mental clarity as it will help you better cope through night shifts by reducing stress levels. [11]

Common Mistakes to Avoid

If you are a shift worker trying to adapt to intermittent fasting, here are a few things you should consider:

• Avoid bingeing on junk food. Even though intermittent fasting does not impose any specific diet, avoid junk food during your eating window.
• Say no to caffeinated drinks or other sugary drinks.
• Try including water-rich fruits and vegetables in your diet.
• Stay hydrated, especially during your fasting period.
• Get enough rest and sleep.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

As a shift worker, you could have a disrupted circadian rhythm, which could cause several health conditions. Sleep plays a pertinent role in building and maintaining this rhythm. With intermittent fasting, you could rebuild a circadian rhythm suited to your schedule. Make sure to plan the diet for your eating window and stick to healthy foods. Keep it flexible to adjust it according to your schedule and needs. 

Intermittent fasting may appear intimidating. Still, it can become easy to follow, regardless of your work shifts and profession. Make sure to find the right intermittent fasting method that suits you to implement and integrate it into your working schedule successfully. All you need to do is tune your work hours and body’s rhythm to find your preferred eating and fasting periods and give them a go.

References

1. Rogers, M., Coates, A., Huggins, C. E., Dorrian, J., Clark, A. B., Davis, C., Leung, G. K., Davis, R., Phoi, Y. Y., Kellow, N. J., Iacovou, M., Yates, C. L., Banks, S., Sletten, T. L., & Bonham, M. P. (2022, April 25). Protocol: Study protocol for Shifting Weight using Intermittent Fasting in night shift workers (SWIFt) study: a three-arm randomised controlled trial comparing three weight loss strategies in night shift workers with obesity. PubMed Central (PMC). 
2. Daniels, M. C., & Popkin, B. M. (n.d.). The impact of water intake on energy intake and weight status: a systematic review. PubMed Central (PMC). 
3. M. Potter, G. D., & Wood, T. R. (2020, August 7). The Future of Shift Work: Circadian Biology Meets Personalised Medicine and Behavioural Science. PubMed Central (PMC). 
4. Study protocol for the Shifting Weight using Intermittent Fasting in night shift workers (SWIFt) study: a three-arm randomised controlled trial comparing three weight loss strategies in night shift workers with obesity – PubMed. (2022, April 26).
5.   Yuan, X., Wang, J., Yang, S., Gao, M., Cao, L., Li, X., Hong, D., Tian, S., & Sun, C. (2022, March 24). Effect of Intermittent Fasting Diet on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism and Insulin Resistance in Patients with Impaired Glucose and Lipid Metabolism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PubMed Central (PMC)
6. Roestamadji, R. I., Nastiti, N. I., Condro Surboyo, M. D., & Irmawati, A. (2019, September 24). The Risk of Night Shift Workers to the Glucose Blood Levels, Saliva, and Dental Caries. PubMed Central (PMC).
7. Ahmed, N., Farooq, J., Siddiqi, H. S., Meo, S. A., Kulsoom, B., Laghari, A. H., Jamshed, H., & Pasha, F. (2021, February 1). Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Lipid Profile–A Quasi-Randomized Clinical Trial. PubMed Central (PMC).
8. Gudden, J., Vasquez, A. A., & Bloemendaal, M. (2021, September 10). The Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Brain and Cognitive Function. PubMed Central (PMC)
9. Patterson, R. E., Laughlin, G. A., Sears, D. D., LaCroix, A. Z., Marinac, C., Gallo, L. C., Hartman, S. J., Natarajan, L., Senger, C. M., Martínez, M. E., & Villaseñor, A. (2015, April 6). INTERMITTENT FASTING AND HUMAN METABOLIC HEALTH. PubMed Central (PMC).
10. Carugno, M., Maggioni, C., Ruggiero, V., Crespi, E., Monti, P., Ferrari, L., & Pesatori, A. C. (2021, October 11). Can Night Shift Work Affect Biological Age? Hints from a Cross-Sectional Study on Hospital Female Nurses. PubMed Central (PMC).
11. Berthelot, E., Etchecopar-Etchart, D., Thellier, D., Lancon, C., Boyer, L., & Fond, G. (2021, November 5). Fasting Interventions for Stress, Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PubMed Central (PMC).

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