Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘GI upsets’

Feelings of Heaviness?

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 27, 2025| 1 Comment »

word job on someone's back

In the poem, “For One Who is Exhausted, a Bleassing” the Irish poet John O’Donohue writes:

Weariness invades your spirit.

Gravity begins falling inside you,

Dragging down every bone.

Can you resonate with those words? Do you find yourself having strong stressors and emotions when you listen to the news or read the newspaper? You may find yourself experiencing personal challenges, financial stress, high-pressure jobs, parenting, caregiving, or dealing with a chronic illness. I find myself wondering what’s next or what else am I going to be expected to handle. If you too find yourself with a sense of struggle, being irritable, difficulty concentrating or lacking motivation. Those are sign’s you may be emotionally exhausted.

Emotional exhaustion tends to happen slowly over time and people can find themselves feeling worn out and drained. According to the Mayo Clinic, emotional exhaustion includes emotional, physical and performance symptoms.

person sitting down with head between their knees

Emotional symptoms can include:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Feeling hopeless
  • Irritability
  • Lack of Focus
  • Lack of Motivation
  • Negative Thinking
  • Sense of Being Trapped
  • Tearfulness

Physical symptoms can include:

  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Lack of Appetite
  • Muscle Tension
  • Poor Sleep
  • Upset Stomach

Performance symptoms can include:

  • Difficulty Completing Tasks
  • Increased Absences
  • Isolation
  • Lowering Commitments
  • Not Meeting Deadlines
stones on the beach at the ocean

The middle of the poem goes on to talk about getting out of the heaviness and shifting your focus.

Draw alongside the silence of stone

Until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Strategies to reduce emotional exhaustion can include:

  • Balancing Your Thoughts
  • Eating A Balanced Diet
  • Exercising
  • Minimizing Stressors
  • Practicing Mindfulness
  • Sleep

Heaviness can lift. That temporary state can be overcome and when it does, you will feel light again.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,

Having learned a new respect for your heart

And the joy that dwells far within slow time.

You are stronger than you realize—every challenge you’ve faced has built a resilience within you that can carry you through this too. You will rise stronger than before.

Written by: Amanda Bohlen, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension Washington County

Reviewed by: Megan Taylor, Family and Consumer Sciences/4-H Educator, OSU Extension Union County

Read Full Post »

Nutrition for the Shift Worker

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2013| 1 Comment »

Shift Workers

Good nutrition is important for everyone but for shift workers, healthy eating is vital to feeling your best, both on and off the job and for maintaining your mental, spiritual and physical health. Eating during shift work often requires a change in the type of foods chosen and the timing of meals.

If you work shifts, you probably experience more gastrointestinal problems, ulcers, constipation, diarrhea, loss of appetite and heartburn. Dehydration, another common problem, can cause headaches, dry skin and nasal irritation, making you more susceptible to colds, coughs, sore throats and the flu.
There is evidence that shift work can lead to stomach disorders, nutritional deficiencies, irregular appetite and weight gain or loss. There also seems to be a link between shift work and heart disease and cancer.

Some reasons for these problems include:
• Too much caffeine intake to stay awake
• High-fat snacking instead of eating meals
• Eating infrequently during the day, then over-eating during the evening
• Eating when digestion and other body functions are slowed down
• Eating meals in a rush, often without the company of family and friends
• Sedentary jobs and lack of opportunities to exercise

It is critical for shift workers to establish regular eating times. Skipping meals can result in fatigue, increased snacking, increased eating at the next meal, or even less overall food intake. Snacks can play an important part of a healthy eating pattern and are especially important during long shifts.

What to eat
• Pack food to take to work to avoid vending machines and take-out fast foods.
• Be sure each meal is balanced with protein, starch, vegetables and fruit.
• Taper off liquids as you near the end of your night shift.
• Place some crackers by your bed in case you wake up hungry during the day.

When to eat
• Try to avoid eating a large meal before work.
• Eat small, nutritionally balanced snacks throughout the shift.
• Eat the largest meal of the day when you wake up.
• Eat as little as possible — and avoid fatty foods entirely — toward the end of your shift.

The right food at the right time:

protein food
• Consume protein foods when it is necessary to stay awake, carbohydrate foods when it is necessary to sleep.

To promote sleep after completing their shift, workers may benefit from a high carbohydrate meal. Foods high in carbohydrates increase levels of serotonin, which promotes sleep. Cereal, bread/bagels, crackers or fruit are good high carbohydrate snacks.

To stay alert, shift workers may turn to protein foods. Protein foods have the opposite effect of carbohydrates and decrease serotonin levels. A high protein meal can make you feel more alert; so, it is important to include protein foods in meals and snacks during your shift. Food choices might include low fat cheese or meat, peanut butter, or hard-boiled eggs in sandwiches or with low fat crackers.

• When working afternoon and evening shifts, eat the main meal at midday instead of during the middle of the shift.
• When working night shift, the first main meal during waking hours should be late afternoon or early evening. After completing a night shift, a moderate snack will prevent going to bed hungry or too full.

Caffeine

Drink caffeinated beverages before your shift or early into it. Don’t have caffeine after midnight; it stays in your body for 6-8 hours. Limit caffeine to no more than 400 mg. a day (about 2 cups of coffee). Excessive caffeine may cause insomnia, headaches, anxiety, among other disorders.

Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/workschedules/

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA: http://www.cedars-sinai.edu/About-Us/News/News-Releases-2006/It-Can-Be-a-Hard-Days-Night-For-Weight-Watchers-on-the-Late-Shift.aspx
WebMD.com: http://blogs.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/2009/12/shift-worker-alert-curb-the-caffeine.html

Writer: Kathryn K. Dodrill, MA, CFCS, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Washington County/Buckeye Hills EERA, dodrill.10@osu.edu

Reviewer: Michelle Treber, LD, MA, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Pickaway County/Heart of Ohio EERA, treber.1@osu.edu

Read Full Post »