Nutrition Tips for Firefighters: How to Stay Energized and Focused

By: Katie Breazeale. MS, RD, LD

Staying energized and focused on a long shift with high stress sounds like wishful thinking, but there are ways to improve your daily energy and brain power.  Check out these simple ways to improve your energy and foods to add to your daily routine to improve cognitive function.

5 Tips for Energy

1. Create a well-rounded diet rich in vegetables, fruits, grains, and lean protein.  When you eat foods that are heavily processed, high in fat, and high in sugar, you can negatively impact your health and energy.  High-fat and sugar foods cause us to feel more sluggish and decrease our mental acuity.  
2. Avoid skipping meals. This can lead to fatigue, decreased concentration, and poor recovery. When you skip meals, you miss essential nutrients for recovery and pre-fueling, such as carbs, protein, and some micronutrients like B12.
3. Hydrate. It can never be said enough times. Dehydration can lead to fatigue, decreased reaction time, headaches, difficulty concentrating, and worse. 
4. Limit alcohol. While it is great to unwind when you get off shift, alcohol disrupts sleep, hormones, nutrient absorption, and overall health.  The goal is to rest and recover when you’re off, so you come back bright-eyed and rested. 
5. Caffeine. While caffeine is not always recommended you can use it to your advantage since it is a mental stimulant. Follow safe practice of 200 mg for the day and try to consume early in your shift to avoid sleep disruptions.

5 Foods to Improve Focus

1. Fatty Fish, well known for high levels of omega 3’s is excellent brain food.  60% of our brain is fat with half being made up of omega 3’s. Our brain uses these to make new memories and learning. Deficiency has been shown to have cognitive impairments and depression.
2. Blueberries are best known for their antioxidants.  Did you know stress and inflammation can cause brain aging? The antioxidants in blueberries have been shown to help communication between your brain cells.
3. Pumpkin Seeds contain antioxidants, zinc, iron, magnesium, and copper.  All essential for brain health and improving cognitive function.  
4. Oranges are best known for their vitamin C and immune health.  However, vitamin C is also associated with improving focus, memory, attention, and reaction time.
5. Broccoli is a vegetable high in vitamin K.   This vitamin is essential in the formation of sphingolipids, a fat densely packed in our brain cells. Research shows people who ate higher amounts of vitamin K had better memory and cognitive function.

While there are several ways to improve energy and focus keep in mind foods that could hinder it as well.  Highly processed, high sugar, and high sodium foods can lead to impaired cognitive function, inflammation, and a decline in brain tissue.