Kathryn recently spoke to NSWNMA members at the Future Ready conference about the unique challenges nurses and midwives face in maintaining healthy lifestyles.
Stressful environments and shift work with few breaks make healthy eating more difficult than usual, Kathryn said.
In nursing and midwifery “you see things, unfortunately, that people shouldn’t really have to deal with, and on a fairly regular basis,” she said.
In a highly stressed situation the sympathetic nervous system kicks in and the flight or fight response is activated, but there is no “flight” when you’re a nurse, Kathryn notes. “You get in there and you deal with it.”
“You have adrenaline surging through your body, then you have a blood sugar response to [the adrenaline], then you have an insulin response to that … this state of stress can go on for hours, but you can end up slowing your digestion right down.
“You can end up in this constant state of upheaval and not even notice that you’re in that anymore because it’s become your new normal. You will become fatigued to that adrenaline.”
An environment of constant stress impacts your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, and is also linked to poor decision making, and yet for nurses “pretty much your entire shift is making decisions”.
Trauma and its impact on eating
“When people go through a trauma at work, they may not feel hungry for a long time or they might feel quite shaky, while other people’s response might be to go home and indulge.
“But the immediate impact of trauma might be that you stop eating and drinking properly for a while, and you need to be aware of that and make sure you stay hydrated.”
Studies of nurses at the end of their shift have found that they are often very dehydrated, Kathryn said. “Anecdotally, they will say, ‘I didn’t want to drink too much because I don’t want to pee because I don’t have time’.”
Kathryn recommends drinking two to three litres of water a day.
“Managing shift work is really hard,” she added, noting that the research shows the best approach is to try to “maintain a regular eating pattern regardless of your shift, and have your three main meals and your snacks within a 24-hour period”.
For night shift she recommends taking enough healthy snacks from home so you don’t resort to the biscuits or the vending machines.
“Soups are great; everybody’s got access to toast at work. So you can bulk freeze small portions … Put in your bag and by lunchtime you can just stick it in the microwave.”