The pressure of cooking long hours from day to day can be overwhelming. Not only do we sometimes have to cook for long hours, we often do so without a lot of breaks. It is an open secret how much this pressure can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health.
When cooking long hours, it is vital to make taking care of yourself a priority in order to battle fatigue as best as possible. It is almost impossible to perform any job to the best of your ability when you’re experiencing fatigue. Being a cook requires precision, repetitive movements, stamina, and energy; quite the opposite of fatigue.
Kitchen burnout is a real danger and is something that is not discussed or appreciated enough.
You are required to be on your feet for long hours each day, and you must be able to move around quickly. You have to be able to stay focused and organized and prepared for anything. The kitchen can quickly become chaotic. Doing all of this while constantly in front of hot surfaces can also add to the fatigue that will inevitably build up in the kitchen.
One of the last things you may consider after long working hours in the kitchen is taking care of yourself. However, if you do not prioritize your own care, fatigue can be a downward spiral that negatively affects your physical and mental health. It may take a little planning and effort on your part, but there are small steps that you can take to battle fatigue when cooking for long hours. Remember your kitchen is a room you are spending a lot of time in so be sure to decorate it in a way you will enjoy such as adding prints or pictures to the wall. You could add photos or use a company like Photowall to make something unique.
1. Utilize Anti-Fatigue Mats
Every kitchen should have an anti-fatigue kitchen mat in any area where someone will be standing for a long time. These mats are crucial to getting proper support while standing in one place for an extended period of time. While a thin piece of fabric may not seem like it can do much, you would be surprised at the difference having an anti-fatigue mat can make for your overall comfort, posture, and physical health.
Many kitchen floors are made of hard, cold material, such as concrete, laminate, or tile. This flat surface can seriously hurt your feet, and the strain can also affect your legs, back, and shoulders. Even if you wear supportive shoes, they won’t be enough to remove this strain.
An anti-fatigue mat can take the brunt of the stress that standing in one place can cause. They add a little bit of extra cushion below your feet for those areas you don’t move around often. It’s important that your anti-fatigue mat is secure to the floor to avoid it becoming a tripping hazard.
2. Get A Good Night’s Sleep
Sometimes you may have to work until late at night. While you may be exhausted, your brain might also still be awake. That being said, one of the most important ways to avoid fatigue when working long hours is to get good sleep.
Sleep can be difficult, especially when working in a high-stress environment. It may not be as simple as just laying in bed. Often, our bodies and our brains aren’t on the same page when it comes to levels of tiredness. Therefore, you may have to put a little bit of effort in to try to get yourself into the proper headspace to get as much sleep as possible. You may have to utilize a sleep mask, make an effort to turn off technology, and perhaps meditate or listen to sleep sounds to get into the right mentality to sleep.
3. Stay Hydrated
Working in a hot kitchen for a long time is one of the best ways to become dehydrated very quickly. Do not underestimate just how strongly being dehydrated can affect your fatigue levels. Standing for long hours in a hot kitchen is going to cause you to sweat, and sweat a lot. You need to be actively rehydrated yourself to avoid fatigue and exhaustion.
Many people will gravitate towards coffee, sugary carbonated and caffeinated drinks, or alcohol when they are tired. You may think these are giving you the energy boost you need to keep going, but these drinks are actually doing the opposite. The caffeine or sugar may give you a short, temporary boost of energy, but you are sure to crash shortly after. These drinks will only lead you to become more dehydrated, which will exacerbate your fatigue.
While it’s not necessarily bad for you to enjoy these types of drinks, you want to ensure you’re hydrating yourself right after you indulge in any of these. Water will counteract any of the crashing or dehydration that might result from these drinks.
4. Make Eating Well A Priority, Even On The Go
If cooking is your daily job, you might not be too excited about having to cook for yourself. That being said, working such a physically demanding job requires enough fuel to allow you to keep going. An inadequate diet, or an unhealthy diet, will be a detriment to your ability to perform your job as effectively as possible.
Even if you cook at home, it can also be difficult to find the time to eat a well-balanced meal while working long hours. You might only be able to squeeze a little bit of food into small pockets of time. While this isn’t ideal, you can work with those small breaks. Being smart about what you put into your body during those times is key to making the most of the downtime you do have while working.
Having sources of protein on hand is ideal for getting you through long hours. Protein will give you the energy you need to get through your workday, and it will also help you feel more satiated if you don’t have time for a full meal. Cheese, nuts, and seeds are great snacks for fueling yourself up. For breaks, having a big salad with a lot of protein and fresh vegetables will fill you up, get you some good nutrients, and hydrate you. Taking time to prepare these items before your cooking starts will ensure you always have something to eat that is nutritionally dense.
It can be tempting to grab fast food or load up with unhealthy fatty foods that are rich in carbs because these things are quick and cheap. While carbs are good for energy, a lot of fast food is full of empty calories that won’t give you proper energy. The grease can actually slow you down and make you feel more sluggish, not to mention the havoc it can wreak on your stomach.
5. Manage Your Mental Health During Your Downtime
Mental health isn’t as taboo of a topic as it once was, but it is still underrated just how important it is to take care of your mental health. Our mind is connected to our bodies, and when we aren’t feeling well mentally, it can do a lot of damage to our bodies.
Dedicating some time, even if it’s not a lot, to taking care of your mental health will allow you to release a lot of the stress from long hours of cooking. In turn, you will be able to relax a bit easier, sleep better, and thus, have more energy for your next day. Consider activities such as meditation or mindfulness, yoga, journaling, or exercising to nourish your mental health.
These 5 tips to battle fatigue when cooking long hours can be a jumpstart to finding some semblance of kitchen balance. This balance is very important for living a most healthy life. Fatigue can be inevitable, especially with such a hectic job like working in a kitchen, but there are ways to mitigate it that are worth the effort.
About the author
Leslie is a blogger at Mats and Rugs. She is a long-time foodie who loves assisting people in planning interiors and decorating them with rugs and carpets.
