When you work too much, it tends to play havoc with your eating habits, reduce your fitness level, cost you sleep, increase your stress levels and it may cause you to start using unhealthy coping mechanisms.
The result of this can be poor circulation, high blood pressure, increased weight, depression, and much more. Here are some ways to combat the effects of overwork and prevent these negative consequences.
Relieve work stress the right way
When working long hours, drinking can become a coping mechanism but regularly drinking too much increases your chances of developing many serious health problems, including cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease, depression and dementia.
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Make sleep a priority
When you don’t get enough sleep, you may overeat, feel unhappy, and be unproductive the next day. Sacrificing sleep for the sake of your job is self-destructive. If you make sure you get enough sleep every night, you have more likelihood of being motivated and productive.
It’s important to establish a pre-bedtime routine, such as fiction reading, meditation or yoga. You should not work during the last hour before you go to bed. Your brain uses light, particularly blue light, to set your circadian rhythm, so you don’t want to expose it to blue light from screens just before you try to fall asleep.
Eat nutritious food
Working for long hours can leave you feeling too exhausted to make nutritious meals. Quicker fixes like takeaways and ready meals may be your go-to. This is an easy habit to fall into but it can have serious health consequences.
Pre-cooking meals can ensure that you always have healthy food on hand. Choose times when you’re relaxed and motivated to cook to prepare these meals. Include about 30g of protein in meals to make them more filling and keep your metabolism running.
Try to limit carbohydrates to less than 100g per meal (roughly the size of the palm of your hand) and avoid white or processed carbohydrates like white rice and bread. Include as many non-starchy vegetables as you can with every meal.
Don’t rely on caffeine for energy
Long working hours with frequent cups of coffee to give you caffeine-fuelled energy will have consequences. Too much caffeine will have a damaging effect on your nervous system, body clock and your circulation. If you feel you can’t just quit coffee cold turkey, drinking black tea that contains less caffeine can help with the withdrawal process.
There are various alternatives to coffee that will give you energy and are much better for you. Try drinking coconut water to improve your blood pressure and help with kidney function. Golden milk is another alternative consisting of non-dairy milk with cinnamon, ginger and turmeric. It has various health benefits and can increase your energy levels.
Exercise is crucial
When you work long hours, you tend to exercise less. It is often the first thing that suffers when you’re busy. There are two ways you can make workouts fit into your busy schedule. Firstly, you can make them short and intense.
Secondly, you can schedule them for times when your energy is high, like first thing in the morning or on your lunch break before you eat. Staying in shape only takes about two to three hours a week and the benefits you experience can actually buy you time – you will feel good, look better and be more productive.