Shift work planner - Meals, sleep, caffeine and training for your rota
Nutrition
By Jesús Narváez Tamés ·
Turn your shift rota into a daily plan: meal times with the kcal for each meal, sleep and naps, your last caffeine so you can sleep and the best slot to train. Download it to your calendar.
Your rota turned into a plan
Healthcare workers, police, firefighters, factory and hospitality staff: millions of people work shifts. The advice out there is generic ("eat a light dinner", "sleep well") and does not tell you when to eat on the Tuesday you start at 11 pm or when to stop coffee so you can sleep afterwards. This tool does it for your real rota.
Pick your shift pattern or build your week day by day. For each day you get meal times and the share of your calories in each meal, when to sleep and nap, your last caffeine and the best slot to train. The rules come from shift-work research: main meal before the night and only light snacks in the small hours, coffee at least 6 hours before sleep and a short sleep on the day you come off nights so you can sleep at night again. You can download it and open it in your calendar.
Your TDEE, or what you eat to lose or gain weight. Work it out with the calorie calculator.
Your plan, day by day
When to eat, sleep, have your last caffeine and the best slot to train, with the kcal for each meal.
Monday · Morning (7-15)
- 06:05Breakfast · 550 kcal
- 07:00Shift → 15:00
- 10:30Snack · 220 kcal
- 15:45Last coffee
- 16:00Lunch · 770 kcal
- 17:30Train → 18:30
- 19:15Dinner · 660 kcal
- 21:45Sleep → 05:45
Tuesday · Morning (7-15)
- 06:05Breakfast · 550 kcal
- 07:00Shift → 15:00
- 10:30Snack · 220 kcal
- 16:00Lunch · 770 kcal
- 17:00Last coffee
- 17:30Train → 18:30
- 20:30Dinner · 660 kcal
- 23:00Sleep → 07:00
Wednesday · Afternoon (15-23)
- 07:50Breakfast · 550 kcal
- 09:30Train → 10:30
- 13:15Lunch · 770 kcal
- 15:00Shift → 23:00
- 18:45Last coffee
- 19:00Snack · 220 kcal
- 00:00Dinner · 660 kcal (light) (next day)
- 00:45Sleep → 08:45 (next day)
Thursday · Afternoon (15-23)
- 09:05Breakfast · 550 kcal
- 10:45Train → 11:45
- 13:15Lunch · 770 kcal
- 15:00Shift → 23:00
- 18:45Last coffee
- 19:00Snack · 220 kcal
- 00:00Dinner · 660 kcal (light) (next day)
- 00:45Sleep → 08:45 (next day)
Friday · Night (23-7)
- 09:00Breakfast · 550 kcal
- 11:45Train → 12:45
- 19:30Nap → 21:00
- 21:15Main meal · 770 kcal
- 23:00Shift → 07:00
- 01:45Last coffee (next day)
- 02:15Snack · 440 kcal (light) (next day)
- 07:30Snack · 440 kcal (light) (next day)
Saturday · Night (23-7)
- 07:45Sleep → 14:15
- 14:45Breakfast · 550 kcal
- 19:30Nap → 21:00
- 21:15Main meal · 770 kcal
- 23:00Shift → 07:00
- 01:45Last coffee (next day)
- 02:15Snack · 440 kcal (light) (next day)
- 07:30Snack · 440 kcal (light) (next day)
Sunday · Off
- 07:45Sleep → 11:45
- 12:05Breakfast · 550 kcal
- 15:05Lunch · 770 kcal
- 15:45Last coffee
- 18:00Snack · 220 kcal
- 20:00Dinner · 660 kcal (light)
- 21:45Sleep → 05:45
Add it to your calendar
Download 4 weeks of your plan as an .ics file and open it with Google Calendar, Outlook or your phone's calendar.
What helps most with shift work
- After a night shift, wear sunglasses on the way home: morning light tells your body it is daytime and makes sleep harder.
- Keep the bedroom completely dark, cool and phone-free. Daytime sleep is shorter and more fragile: protect it.
- On nights, no big meals between midnight and 6 am. Protein and some fruit or dairy beat pastries.
- Caffeine lasts about 5 hours in your body: having it at the end of a shift steals hours from the sleep that follows.
- If your week mixes mornings, afternoons and nights, the easiest order is morning → afternoon → night (forward rotation).
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Frequently asked questions
What is best to eat on a night shift?
Have your main meal before you start, around 9 pm, and during the night eat only something light with protein, such as yoghurt with fruit, a small turkey sandwich or nuts. Between midnight and 6 am the body handles sugar and fat worse, and big meals at those hours are linked to heavier digestion and higher long-term metabolic risk.
When should I stop coffee if I work nights?
Caffeine takes about 5 hours to halve. If you go to bed at 7:45 am when you get home, your last cup should be before 2 am. Have it at the start of the shift, not the end.
How much should I sleep after a night shift?
Ideally go to bed as soon as you get home and sleep 6.5–7 hours in a dark, cool room. If you work again that night, add a 90-minute nap before you leave. On the day you finish your last night, sleep only about 4 hours in the morning so you can sleep at night.
When should I train if I work shifts?
When you have been awake for at least 2 hours, 3 hours before sleep and not straight after a big meal. On mornings, train in the afternoon; on afternoons, in the morning; on nights, before your nap or on days off. On the day you come off nights, keep it easy.
Does shift work make you gain weight?
It is linked to a higher risk of weight gain, mainly through less sleep, snacking in the small hours and irregular meals. It is not inevitable: fixed meal times for each shift, no big meals in the small hours and protecting your sleep help a lot. Your daily calories do not change with the schedule; how you spread them does.