Welcome to A Healthy Shift | The Shift Work Podcast, the podcast helping shift workers thrive while changing how organisations think about people working in 24/7 environments.
Hosted by Roger Sutherland, Australia's Night Shift & Sleep Specialist, this is where evidence meets lived experience.
After more than 40 years of working rotating shifts with Victoria Police, followed by years studying nutrition, circadian biology, chrononutrition, sleep, human performance and women's health, Roger is on a mission to challenge the belief that fatigue, poor sleep, burnout and declining health are simply part of working shifts.
Because they don't have to be.
Whether you're a nurse, paramedic, police officer, firefighter, doctor, aged care worker, manufacturing employee, FIFO worker, miner, pilot, flight attendant, truck driver, dispatcher, or anyone working outside the traditional 9-to-5, this podcast will give you practical, evidence-based strategies to help you sleep better, improve your energy, optimise your health and perform at your best.
If you're a leader, manager, People & Culture professional, WHS specialist, or responsible for leading a 24/7 workforce, you'll discover a different way of thinking about shift work—one that focuses on building shift work capability from within through education, leadership and practical systems that create healthier people, stronger teams and higher-performing organisations.
Each episode explores topics including:
• Shift work • Night shift • Sleep after night shift • Circadian rhythm • Fatigue management • Shift worker health • Nutrition for shift workers • Chrononutrition • Recovery and resilience • Women's health and shift work • Leadership in 24/7 organisations • Human performance • Workplace wellbeing • Fatigue risk management • Building healthier, safer and higher-performing workplaces
This isn't another podcast offering generic health tips.
It's a podcast about changing the future of shift work.
Because healthier people create stronger teams.
Stronger teams build better organisations.
And it all starts by understanding how to work with biology, not against it.
As shift workers, we can be highly stressed purely by the roles that we perform, and that may bring about episodes of using food for comfort.
Facing the struggles of stress and stress eating head-on, we've got expert Shannon Beer here to help us unravel the threads of temptation and self-soothing with food.
Shannon joins me to explain why we often find ourselves turning to food after a tough shift and how we can combat this impulse with healthier strategies. Leveraging her knowledge on the subject, Shannon introduces us to a transformative practice: compassionate letter writing. A technique designed to foster a more understanding attitude towards our physical and mental health, it's a powerful tool in reducing susceptibility to highly palatable, calorically dense food choices.
Shannon doesn't stop there, she digs deeper into the structure of a compassionate letter, illustrating how this tactic helps us acknowledge our challenges, own our choices, and create strategies to support ourselves in a better way. Self-compassion, as we discuss, plays a pivotal role in this process. We also touch upon mindfulness and journaling as additional aids to nurture a gentler commitment to oneself. Our conversation aims to arm shift workers, and anyone else wrestling with stress, with the tools to make healthier food decisions and manage stress more effectively. Don't miss out on this engaging dialogue packed with actionable strategies for your stress management kit.
Roger Sutherland is Australia's Night Shift & Sleep Specialist and the founder of A Healthy Shift.
After more than 40 years working rotating shifts with Victoria Police, Roger now helps organisations reduce fatigue risk, improve staff wellbeing and build healthier, safer and higher-performing 24/7 workplaces through evidence-based education, circadian biology and the Shift Work Champions™ Framework.
Disclaimer: Roger Sutherland is not a doctor or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before implementing any strategies mentioned in this podcast. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Roger Sutherland will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of the information contained in this podcast, including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness, or death.
And welcome to today's episode of a healthy shift podcast . Today's episode is a little bit different . What it is ? it's an answer to a question that was posed to me in one of my Q and A's on Instagram . Someone asked me the following question Anything on how to not use eating as a self soothing strategy for stress after a tough shift ? So in today's episode of a quick chat with , we're gonna have a quick chat with my mentor , Shannon Beer , who is a subject matter expert on this . So let's get into the episode . The shift work can be brutal , but it doesn't have to be . Welcome to a healthy shift . My name is Roger Sutherland , certified nutritionist , veteran law enforcement officer and 24 seven shift worker for almost four decades . Through this podcast , I aim to educate shift workers , using evidence based methods , to not only survive the rig as a shift work , but thrive . My goal is to empower shift workers to improve their health and wellbeing So they have more energy to do the things they love . Enjoy today's show . Welcome to the show , Shannon . How are you ?
Speaker 2
I'm good . Thank you for having me on .
Speaker 1
Oh , an absolute pleasure . Now , to anybody listening that knows Shannon Beer . You never , ever asked Shannon how she is , because we know she's well . It's almost always where the hell are you , Shannon ? Where are you now ?
Speaker 2
I am in California right now .
Speaker 1
Fantastic , what a fantastic place to be too , chasing the sun , no doubt .
Speaker 2
Trying my best , that's for sure .
Speaker 1
Wonderful . Now , shannon , i've asked you to come on to answer a question that came to me as a result of a Q&A that I did , which I said who would you love to hear from on my podcast ? And then the answer that I got was anything on how to not use eating as a self soothing strategy for stress after a tough shift . Immediately , you came to mind , obviously . You mentored me for six months and I know what your answer is probably going to be to this , but , at the end of the day , i think it's important that we hear from a subject matter expert , and I know you articulate this extremely well . Now , our health workers , frontline health and shift workers are under enormous pressure at the moment , and this is an absolute problem that I would love for you to just arm our shift workers with some tools to help them with this self soothing strategy other than reaching for food . Or , in fact , let's go back . Why do we reach for food as a self soothing strategy for ? as a result of stress .
Speaker 2
Yeah , it's very normal to find yourself tempted to want to reach for something that gives you a sense of comfort , that is distracting , it helps you to relax . And now I'm guessing the reason that this question was asked is because it doesn't come without its downsides right , where maybe we feel a little bit guilty after , we feel regretful , we are not liking the impacts maybe that's having on us long term . And it sounds as though your listeners are searching for alternative strategies , and I gave it a little bit of thought . I was like well , what's the most helpful thing that I could suggest in this episode ? Because , of course , there are a number of different ways that we could approach this , but , given the scenario of shift workers who are currently under a lot of stress , what I would recommend is to consider starting a compassion based practice , and the reason that I suggest this is because compassion is about supporting yourself when you're having a hard time , and the one practice that I would recommend in particular is compassionate letter writing , because when you're having a hard time and feeling under stress , writing a letter to yourself can be a really helpful way to refocus your thoughts and feelings on being supportive , helpful and caring towards yourself , because it's not just the eating that can cause problems for people .
Speaker 2
What they find is they're often very critical towards themselves after Like , oh for God's sake , why do I continue to do this ? Like I know this isn't helpful . I'm so useless , there's something wrong with me . All of that criticism that comes after the unsatisfying food choices that can make it very , very difficult to find alternative strategies , and I would also encourage reframing the question , because currently this is an avoidance based goal How can I stop myself eating ? What we could ask instead , which may lead to some more helpful solutions , is how can I best support myself when I am stressed ? Because we know if we reduce our vulnerability , we're gonna be less prone to making those choices that don't leave us feeling satisfied . So would you like me to sort of explain a little bit about the compassionate letter writing practice ?
Speaker 1
Yes , please do go ahead .
Speaker 2
Awesome . So the research suggests that when we write ourselves , when we engage in expressive writing , then that allows us to respond to our setbacks rather than beating ourselves up to find a solution to move us forward . It helps us to take responsibility for our physical and mental well-being and it really helps us to develop a genuine sense of understanding and care for ourselves . So we begin to recognize that it makes a lot of sense why I'm struggling to make different choices At this present moment . I am under a lot of pressure and I've turned to food because it's convenient , because it works temporarily in the moment . Maybe it's something that I'm used to , it's a habit of mine and it makes sense that I would turn to that . However , i have recognized that this is something that I want to change . I want to begin to develop other strategies . That is the compassionate perspective , and the reason that it's so helpful in this particular context is because self-compassion , reflective writing , has been shown to reduce negative effects and to improve healthy eating relative to other strategies . So relative to just writing in general or relative to putting ourselves down , we're more likely to feel better and to eat well if we get into the practice of writing ourselves compassionate letters . It also helps us to manage our emotional and behavioral responses to lapses in our healthy eating , because many of us will recognize that it's not what you eat on the occasion that matters the most . It's what you do consistently over time . The problem is when we feel like we've let ourselves go , that we've made a mistake , that we've slipped up on our diet . That's when we tend to self-sabotage , whereas if we can respond to that situation with compassion and concern for ourselves , we can find a more helpful strategy . There are also the additional benefits in relation to our body image , which can also be helpful to improving our eating behaviors as well , because they often go hand in hand . So it helps us to appreciate ourselves and to feel more satisfied with our bodies . But with the compassionate letter itself , i recognize that this is probably the last thing you want to do when you get home from a long shift , right , and I'm not suggesting that you actually have to do it at that point in time . It may even be something that you want to start your day with before you go on your shift . So , for example , this could look like , dear Roger , like I'm going to address this letter to myself Dear Roger , you're working really hard at the moment and you're under a lot of stress . I know that this is going to be a long shift for you And when you get home , you're going to want a way to unwind , and what you've been doing recently is turning to food . You're feeling a little bit disappointed with yourself and you're frustrated that you're unable to break this cycle .
Speaker 2
Perhaps , instead , we can think about other ways to begin to support ourselves . It would be nice if you could come home to a meal that's already been prepared . Imagine how much better you'll feel , knowing that you've got a meal that meets all of your needs , which is also convenient for you . Perhaps we could play around and explore and experiment with other ways of unwinding . The goal is not to stop eating . The goal is to explore new opportunities and new activities that you could be doing , and this will open you up to so many different routes that you could go down .
Speaker 2
I would recommend , if you do this in the morning , that when you're on your way home from your night shift , you can start this exercise in the car , where you engage in what is known as soothing rhythm breathing .
Speaker 2
So , essentially , you're using your breath to send signals to your body to prepare yourself for relaxation , for grounding , for calming down , so that when you get home , you're not primed to overeat because you're not feeling so , so stressed . It's a very effective and very simple thing that you can do in your car , when you're already on your way home , and that would just look like taking some long and slow , deep breaths , finding a rhythm that works for you , and you can do this for as long as it takes for you to feel just a little bit more grounded , and the goal is not to fall asleep , especially if you're driving home , right , but you know , be very aware of that . The goal is to help yourself feel calm and alert . That's what you're hoping for , so that then , when you get home again , you're less primed to be making choices that don't leave you satisfied .
Speaker 1
Yeah , i really love that With what you've done . So let's just unpack a few of those things that you've talked about . There I always talk , and in my seminars that I run to other agencies I do talk about that . We need to start our sleep hygiene practice . Once we get in the car on the way home , we don't put loud , stimulating , doof doof music on and then you know , bokeh our way all the way home with the windows down and things like that . We need to start a nice slow , rhythmic practice , because this does get us back into a parasympathetic state , which is restful as well .
Speaker 1
Because , as this person has asked us the question , what's a self-suiting strategy for stress ? and breathwork , with out doubt , is an excellent place to start , because we do use our breathwork just by focusing on the breath , and I've talked about meditation as being something that's really important , and people say I'm so stressed and my mind goes a million miles an hour . There is no way can I meditate And I say you actually can , because no one's mind goes as fast as I do And I learnt to meditate in October last year , or September , i think it was . It changed my life , shannon . It made such a difference to my life . Just in the course that I did , i went physically to a person to learn how to meditate properly and to find a practice that I really enjoyed And I use that And I encourage shift workers to use this on the way home instead of this stressful thing , because the idea and the reason why we stress it is because we're in a stress state and we need to reduce that stress state .
Speaker 1
I love the idea of the letter writing as well . Now you've called it letter writing , like it's Dear Roger , but is this something along the lines of ? we talk about journaling a lot as well , but could journaling be something that could be used ? I think , don't get me wrong here but we've got health workers and frontline emergency workers and big firemen and big policemen that have big problems . They're not going to sit down and write a Dear John letter to themselves , right , but they should really journal things out And you could journal that out . Is that true ?
I would say that there are some specific characteristics of a compassionate letter that are important , because that is what gives it the benefit , particularly in these circumstances where we're talking about unsatisfying food choices and also dealing with stress . So a compassionate letter is something that is validating . You're directly empathising with your struggles , you're acknowledging you know what I'm having a hard time right now and you're thinking about a specific difficulty , so there's a structure to it . So really engaging with that rhythm breathing on the way home will help you to tap into some of the sort of more grounding , wise , strong , courageous sort of qualities that you have within yourself . So the letter would begin with you can either address it to yourself , third person , dear Roger , or you can write first person . You know I am having a hard time right now and it's understandable why I'm going through this , given the amount of pressure that I'm under , and you can also understand your attempts to manage that stress . I recognise that I've been overeating or making choices that I'm not happy with , and you can acknowledge that the consequences and this is having an impact on me they're not your fault . It's just a way that you've tried to manage your stress And now you're acknowledging that this isn't helpful for you . So it helps you to take responsibility , to develop the skills to manage these difficulties in a more helpful and productive way . So you can then begin to explore the different strategies . You know what steps can I take to learn how to support myself in different ways . Can I make a plan for that ? You're then going to work with your blocks and your setbacks , so consider what else might interrupt that . Right , you know I might be tempted to . There's all this food in the house and it's really easy for me just to forget why I'd planned to do different things , right , or I'm never sure what to do when I get home . So maybe I'm going to experiment with other things at different times when I'm not feeling my most vulnerable , just so I can see what that might be like for me . And then , finally , you're going to end with a commitment to yourself , so expressing your intention to take steps to deal with your circumstances in a different way . So take the structure of a compassionate letter , and it is these guidelines that can really help you to see those changes that we've mentioned .
Speaker 2
Journaling can be a good place to start , but it can also be very vague , you know . It could also be less direct . It may not be helpful for you in the sense that you haven't been able to empathize . It may turn into something that's quite critical , like Roger , why do you keep eating this shitty food ? Like , get a grip . You know ? like that could be journaling , because compassion is really important to embody those qualities of wisdom . I know this isn't helpful . I can also see why you're struggling , as well as strength and a caring commitment . So you're not there to put yourself down . You're there to support yourself and find a better way to move forward .
Speaker 1
I was just about to emphasize , like with meditation , it's super important that we don't judge our feelings , isn't it ? We have to really avoid judging our feelings like oh , that's interesting . I wonder why that thought came into my mind . That's an interesting thought , but we don't go . Oh , here you go again , rog , you've got to be thinking about this , you know . Don't stop thinking about it . You're being an idiot , you're being a fool , you're being dumb by doing all this , and it's that is very , very unhelpful , isn't it ? It doesn't help us at all . So we need to really like with meditation .
Speaker 1
We really do need to write this letter from a very , very compassionate side , because the research is very clear that when we show ourselves compassion , it actually manifests in so many areas , doesn't it ? with what we do , instead of what we think , we think we've got to bully ourselves . We think we've got to go no . We think we've got to say don't have that food in the house . We think we've got to say you're hopeless , you're useless , you just keep on eating this .
Speaker 1
But if we do it with , without judgment and just with compassion of , well , that's an interesting thought , why would you think that way ? Yeah , okay , so you know it's a stressful time , i'm busy , i've got a lot of files , or or we're very short staffed or we've got these problems , so it's okay to feel like this . Now , what I want to do in relation to this because I've been eating too much is I want to be able to self soothe myself , and I think if we go back to as babies , what we would cry and we'd be put on the boobs straight away , wouldn't we , you know ? because it was food . It was food was the solution to it , and then we would fall over and mum would put a bandaid on our leg and then she would give us a lollipop and send us off as well . So food was the reward there as well . Then we have Christmas and birthdays and Easter , and it's all food rewarding . I just think that doing things without judgment is definitely the way to go , and just observe the thought .
Speaker 2
Yeah , i mean , that's really great advice , like , rather than saying you know you keep making these choices and you're such a greedy idiot or whatever it is that comes up , it's actually getting curious Why do I make these choices ? You know I don't like this . So what is going on here And we find , well , yeah , there are some benefits , there are some good reasons why I do this , because I've got a lot on my plate and it helps temporarily , you know . So having that compassion means having that understanding and that wisdom . So , like you mentioned , it's about then using that wisdom to discover other ways that you can self-serve . And there are so many ways that you could do that . You know you could even Google , like self-serving techniques , and there may be things that come up like drinking a warm tea that helps you to relax , putting on some soothing music , using touch as well , like whether it's like a heavy weighted blanket that makes you feel like cozy and comfortable , or even putting like your hand on your chest And it sounds like a little bit silly , but sometimes what we do in these compassionate mind training exercises is actually like use touch that can be very comforting , whether you're just like holding your own hand or putting your hand on your chest . That can be very soothing . If you have a partner , then obviously you can do that together .
Speaker 2
Other strategies may involve smell You know what sense relax you . Can you light a candle that helps you to calm down . You know , all of these different things are just examples of some ways that you could begin to experiment with different strategies . So what I would recommend is just picking one you know What out of you know , generate some ideas . Give yourself the freedom to just put a bunch of ideas on paper whether they're good ideas or bad ideas , you know . Just remove the judgment there and just let everything come to that .
Speaker 2
Whatever comes to your mind , get that out on paper And then from that list you can decide which one of these sounds like a good place to start , you know . So I really do recommend , as we said , the soothing breathing in the car , because that's something you always have access to , no matter where you are . You've always got access to your breath . If you're out in public , it's something you can do . That's not even like visible , that you know you could be doing these breathing practices and no one's going to notice . So I do think that that could be a very effective place And , in general , if you can build that compassionate letter writing practice at times that are convenient to you , that can help to reduce your emotional vulnerability , which is what's leading to some of these unsatisfying choices .
Speaker 1
Amazing . I think that's really good . And once again , don't overwhelm yourself . Just pick one and just work with whatever you feel comfortable with yourself . Some people might say , hey , spray your pillow with lavender and smell that . Some people might say , hey , do the camp , but don't have a line of things as you're coming in the candle , the lavender , the everything at once , because you'll completely overwhelm yourself And then you'll stress yourself , won't you ? with anxiety Oh , i haven't lit the candle , i haven't done this , or I haven't done that , i failed . It has an opposite effect . Oh my God , i haven't done this .
Speaker 1
But I think if we just introduce one little thing and it might make such a difference to us , because the idea is , once again we'll go back to it . It's got to be a strategy for stress before , because this person has identified that they eat as a result of stress And once again we need to go back to the root cause , don't we ? The stress is the root cause . Now , all we're going to do is move ourselves from that stress state . There's good stress , there's bad stress . But writing things down , like you've said in your compassionate letter , actually just literally , by thinking it and writing it , it creates a bit of a muscle memory for you , when you are stressed to go back to , doesn't it automatically , because you've written it out , and I think that was just a fantastic strategy as well with that . So , shannon , thank you so much for answering those questions . Is there anything else that you would like to add ?
Speaker 2
No , but I am building out a free resource that will guide you through this letter writing process . So if that's done by the time the podcast is released and I'm happy to share that as well , just to give you those guidelines . So it's a practice that you can build for yourself if that's something that you think would be helpful .
Speaker 1
I think that would be incredibly helpful And , in fact , what I will do , because I know how quickly you work I will hold this podcast off and I'll release it , because I released these on Wednesdays . I'll hold that off and I'll wait for you to forward that And I'll put a link to it in the show notes , actually , so that people can actually download that and just use it as a bit of a framework for them to , because you know everyone wants a journal that's got prompts , and to have a framework around this self-compassionate letter writing would be fantastic . Thank you , shannon , And what are you up to at the moment with your ? you've got your body image course , which is for coaches , but I sort of I've got to admit I recently learned that you actually do have a body image course for the GenPop to use as well , don't you ? Would you like to talk a little bit about that while you've got the opportunity in the platform ?
Speaker 2
Yeah , absolutely So . I recognise , like in my work , you know , coaching people to help them to eat better is that one of the biggest blocks they face is with their body image . So many people want to feel more confident , more comfortable in their bodies , and I created a body confidence toolbox . So these are strategies that are really well grounded by the evidence , that are proven , to support you through your bad body image days . So everyone has those moments where they don't feel good in their bodies . You know we desire to change how we look And these are strategies that can help you to move past those moments and continue to treat your body with the respect that it deserves , so that you can focus on all the other things that you've got going on in your life . So that is the sort of purpose and the story behind the body confidence toolbox .
Speaker 1
Fantastic . I highly recommend it . Shannon's armed me with some tremendous tools that I use to work with clients as well , and that's from a coaching perspective . But to be able to do it as a young woman or even a young man that's having trouble with their body image and they feel like they need to look a certain way or behave a certain way , this really does impact on our eating behaviors , and when you can rectify that , your life just completely changes for you , and I can even talk about that from my own perspective as well . So well done , shannon . Where can people find you to actually follow up on this ? Obviously , the website is where the course will be parked . So tell us your website , tell us your Instagram , and we'll go from there .
Speaker 2
Yeah , it's nice and easy . My website is coachshannonbeercom and my Instagram is the same coach Shannon Bear .
Speaker 1
Amazing , fantastic . Thank you so much , shannon . I'll link to that in the show notes And I wanted to say again , thank you so much for giving up half an hour of your time to help our poor shift workers with this And I'm sure you've armed them with a really good strategy there that people can use to just get themselves back into a parasympathetic state and to give them an option to use to help them as well . Thank you once again .
Speaker 2
It was a pleasure .
Speaker 1
And well , there you go . That's Shannon Beer , isn't she fantastic ? Now , firstly , from the outset , i do want to just apologize for that popping noise that was in my audio At the end of the interview with Shannon . I actually cancelled out of my recording application and it didn't save , thank God . I recorded it through StreamYard , so I was able to capture Shannon's audio And unfortunately , for some reason , mine recorded with those pops in it . So I apologize for that , but it's not normal folks . Ok , so there you go . That's the answer to the question . If you got any value out of that , i ask that you please , if you would write , review and share the podcast with your friends . It is a really , really important topic , this because it does cause so many disordered behaviors around our food . So there you go . Anyway , that's the podcast episode and that is Shannon Beer . Thanks for watching .
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