One of the many challenges first responders face is how they should be eating on their shift. As firefighters, police, and EMTs, your circadian rhythm (your body’s internal biological clock that controls your sleep/wake cycle) is often out of sync due to the nature of your rotating schedule. And while you may be forced to be awake at night, your metabolism and digestive system are not. So as not to completely throw off your sleep/wake cycle, while on-shift, it is important to stick to an eating schedule that best emulates how you would eat when you are not on-shift.
Here is an example eating schedule (based on 7am-7am shift):
6am light snack (piece of fruit, hard-boiled egg, etc.)
9am breakfast (protein, healthy fat and fiber)
1pm lunch (protein, healthy fat, fiber)
4pm snack (protein, heathy fat, fiber)
7pm dinner (protein, healthy fat, fiber)
Hopefully this helps and also check out my handout on some meal ideas to bring with you whether it’s on shift or at a detail.
