Night Shifts, Vitamin D and Immunity

Friday 3 July 2020 is Stay Out of the Sun Day - aimed at all those sun worshippers who have been fortunate in spending time outdoors during this summer’s lockdown.  In all the right doses, sunlight is key to our health.  It is our principle source of Vitamin D, a key nourishing nutrient for our immunity, is vital for bone health and a key player in our mood.   

Keeping our immunity strong is important always, but more relevant today in the face of Covid-19.

Shift Work and Vitamin D

Yet, if you’re a shift worker, and rarely see the light of day, your night shift lifestyle may be robbing you of this key nutrient.  Low levels of Vitamin D have been found in studies looking at the manufacturing industry and nurses.  When Vitamin D status is low (less than 50 nmol/l) it can impact our muscle strength, balance and is implicated in a higher risk of falls.  This clearly has a major impact on performance and safety at work.

How to raise your Vitamin D levels

So how do we do the right thing to raise our Vitamin D levels? 

Firstly, Vitamin D is poorly acquired through the diet, with only a little found in grass fed butter, oily fish such as salmon, and egg yolk.  Which is why supplementation with this vitamin is a good idea.  Understanding your status through a quick, done at home test can help determine what level of supplementation you need.

Let’s not forget healthy sunlight.  Paying attention to your sunlight exposure will pay dividends in your health, keeping in mind that lifestyle, skin colour, the degree of pollution and geographical latitude all affect the amount of Vitamin D your body can make.

Sunlight exposure can improve your energy

If you’re working an evening shift then afternoon sunlight can help improve Vitamin D as well as your energy during the night shift.

Vitamin D is only synthesized on the skin if exposed for 5-30 minutes twice a day in the absence of sunblock and between the hours of 10 and 3pm for latitudes north and south of 30 degrees – that includes the UK.  These are your best hours for synthesizing Vitamin D through sun and skin exposure so where possible, schedule in your Vitamin D making time. 

We need sunlight to thrive, and Vitamin D to feel healthy.  If you’d like to find out more about Vitamin D testing, drop me a line to find out more.  

Please drop me a line if you’re interested in testing your Vitamin D status, to help improve your energy, mood and immunity.

Deborah McTaggart is a registered nutritionist practising in Barnes, South West London, and global via Zoom. She works with corporate nutrition and individuals on healthy eating, with a special interest in Men's Health, Shift Work Health, Travel Health and Avoiding Jet Lag. Contact me here for further information on nutrition plans.