...
>I am having trouble with eating while I am working
>midnights.  Since I don't work them consistently (only
>two in a row every two weeks), I find myself eating
>every 4-6 hours for those two days (since I also have
>trouble sleeping for any length of time after working
>midnights).  I normally can go for 7-8 hours after my
>morning meal other days, but seem constantly hungry
>when I am on this shift.  I make sure that I eat
>plenty of fat in my meals, but that does not seem to
>make a difference.  Any suggestions???
>TIA
>Jane

Hi Jane,
        I worked the graveyard shift for 3 months years ago. I used to fall asleep
standing on my feet! I, as I suggest you do, told my supervisor that either
I change shifts or walk. They changed me to 2nd shift.
        If you do not have the opportunity to demand a shift change at the present
time I would suggest a couple of things: Do not significantly vary your
schedule on off days(go to bed about the same time, workout at the same
time, nap at the same time, eat at the same frequency, etc.). Make your
room where you sleep very dark(aluminum foil on the windows isn't pretty
but it works). Have a plan to change your hours. Get out in the sun
everyday for several hours to reset your internal clock.
        One of the most health damaging changes that has occurred in the last 100
years is the introduction of indoor lighting/electricity and the working of
night shifts this has allowed. For millions of years our bodies were
regulated to a profound degree by the rotation of the planet, change of
seasons, and the subsequent slowly fluctuating variance in the length of
daylight. Just as 10,000 years is not enough time to adjust to processed
foods, 100 years will literally kill you in regards to changing of
sleep/wake cycles.
        I speak from experience not just for myself but because my wife worked 3rd
shift for 13 years! I met her after she worked 5 years of this. The amount
of injuries, auto accidents, cancers, heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity
that her co-workers experienced were staggering. They were almost certain
to gain an incredible amount of weight if they stayed on this schedule for
any amount of time. It just isn't conducive to optimal health.

Dave