EXERCISE AND FATIGUE
Healthy from the Start Resources for Shiftworkers
When you’re fatigued, engaging in strenuous exercise can have a negative impact on your body, and can make your fatigue worse. At these times, it’s important to avoid high-intensity activity, and if you feel like you would benefit from some exercise, opt for something low-intensity instead.
Fatigue is common for shiftworkers, as you’re often not getting enough quality sleep, or sleeping at odd hours. On top of this, many shiftworkers are employed in high stress or physically demanding jobs, which can contribute to high levels of fatigue.
Attempting to exercise when you’re highly fatigued is linked with decreased performance across a variety of exercise types including strength (resistance), anaerobic power (sprinting), high intensity interval, endurance and skill-based exercises (e.g., tennis) (37).
When you’re fatigued, you will have slower reaction times, worse attention and alertness, and poorer decision making (37). This means that, despite your best efforts, if you’re highly fatigued, you’re not going to get the most out of your workout and you risk injuring yourself or someone else.
When you’re fatigued, your body is telling you that it needs rest, so it’s important to prioritise recovery over physical activity. If you’re too tired to exercise, don’t push yourself, and instead, have a nap or a full sleep to ensure you are looking after your overall health. If you feel like you really need to do some physical activity, pick low-intensity wind-down activities instead.
This is also particularly important for shiftworkers who have roles that are highly physically demanding – some of these jobs will count as your daily physical activity, without seeking out additional exercise.
