The Path to Healing

Speaker 1 0:01

studying and I was studying meditation , therapy , teaching , and I had had a weekend bender . So it's 3 pm and I wake up and I had to submit an assignment on the nervous system and I'm half gacked because I've been on it for three days and I get out of my bed and I get my laptop and I submit my assessment and I just look at myself and I was like what the fuck are you doing ?

Speaker 2 0:28

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 24-7 shift worker for almost four decades . Through this podcast , I aim to educate shift workers using evidence-based methods , to not only survive the rigours of 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 . Hello and welcome back to another episode of a Healthy Shift podcast .

Speaker 2 1:07

It's been a long time , I know , but today I have quite a special guest on Caitlin Manair . Now , caitlin is someone who I met at a business conference about three weeks ago and I was introduced by a mutual friend who said , oh my God , you two have got to get together because you are so similar with your messages . And I got talking to Caitlin and I thought , yes , we must hear her story on the podcast because Caitlin will become so relatable to many of you who are getting to the stage where , as we really start to crash and burn in our shift working lives , why this is actually happening . And then , not only why it's happening , but how can we put simple things in place to help us and Caitlin has a fantastic story . During this podcast , you'll also hear her talk about an analogy , which really does make it very , very clear . I highly recommend you have a really good listen to this one and think about what strategies you could be taking from this and putting in place yourself . Welcome to the show , caitlin Manair . How are you , caitlin ?

Speaker 1 2:18

Thank you , roger , I'm so excited to be here .

Speaker 2 2:20

Not as excited as I am . We were introduced by Kate Morris . We've got a mutual friend in Kate who had worked out that both of us were on the same page in relation to so much . Nothing could be closer to the truth , is it ? We're very , very similar in what we are preaching to . Our followers aren't ?

Speaker 1 2:37

we , yeah , and I love that , both from such different backgrounds , but we've ended up on the same path , which is really cool .

Speaker 2 2:42

Because it's the right path . That's the bottom line , isn't it ? We're not only just saying that , but we now know that it is actually the right path , because you are testimony to that , caitlin . I wanted to get you on the show because you will be so relatable because of where you actually came from . Now , let's go back to there . Tell me where you'd come from . That made you realize that something needs to be done .

Speaker 1 3:05

Yeah , cool . So I guess right now I'm a holistic psychotherapist and coach . But backtrack four or five years ago , I was a party animal makeup artist and I got diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2019 , which shouldn't have been a shock , but it was a shock to my system . My body was whispering , it was whispering , it was whispering and I was just like , oh , that's just a bit of bloating , oh , that's just a bit of blood , it's fine , everything's good , just keep drinking , just keep . I was like a very big party animal . So I was just like doing drugs all weekend and it was just chaos . And my body was like , hey , something's happening . And I was like no , no , no , no , no , no , no , I can't hear you , I don't want to listen . Everything's fine .

Speaker 1 3:51

So I got diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2019 . And I had about eight operations on my body to try and get it under control in a nine month period Like I was in and out of hospital period . Like I was in and out of hospital . Towards the end , they gave me some injections that were immunosuppressants , that were like this is what's going to help , because I had abscesses coming up in all different parts of my body . They're like just take these , this is going to help you then take this medication to stop you building up a tolerance to the injections . I had drains coming out of my body and they were like this is it , this is your life ? And I was like absolutely fucking not .

Speaker 2 4:25

No , we're not going down this line , are we ? Now , this is where we're similar , and I won't go into my story because it's not about me . It's absolutely about you . But I had a very similar course which made me go no , no , no , I'm actually going to do this , but I was a lot older than you , so I had a lot more damage . Talk to me about your life as a makeup artist . What did it involve in relation to you , say , partying ? It's that kind of scene , isn't it ? It's that sort of scene where there's a lot of parties , a lot of alcohol , I'm assuming , boys , drugs , the whole thing . You're living that because you're that age and that's what you think's right . Is that fair ?

Speaker 1 5:05

Yeah Well , I didn't know that there was anything , anything different . So I'm 32 now and I came out of high school . I found makeup artistry when I was 16 , finished school , and then I went into makeup and I worked for different companies and I freelanced and I did shoots and that was all my life . I drank . I started drinking when I was 16 , hiding UDLs in my front yard , so my mom couldn't see this , as everyone did as everyone did , then Like .

Speaker 1 5:28

I feel like I just had this normal relationship with alcohol , that it was just what you do . You go out every weekend , you blow off steam , you get high , you drink , you vomit , you do it again like eat , rinse , repeat .

Speaker 2 5:41

And then at the end of the weekend you say I'm never doing that again . But you front up again Thursday night and do it all over again .

Speaker 1 5:46

Literally . I don't know how I used to back it up . I'd go out like Thursday , friday , saturday and I'd work . There was just a normal relationship , normal with alcohol , and that was it .

Speaker 2 5:55

Yep , alcohol and drugs and just partying . So when we talk partying , we're talking being up late at night , aren't we ? We're talking about you know three , four o'clock , pulling all nighters , pulling all weekends . When you look back in hindsight now , you can't begin to imagine the damage that that was actually doing to your poor autonomous nervous system , your circadian rhythm . You were diagnosed with Crohn's disease . You said . Can you just explain to those that are unaware what actually is Crohn's disease ?

Speaker 1 6:24

So Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease . It is classified as an autoimmune condition , typically in the like intestines or like rectal passage bowels . It's bloating , it can be blood , it can be intense food intolerances . It is a hell of a disease and people get really , really sick from it . It's when you ever see those people with colostomy bags . They've had like a part of their intestine or a part of their bowel removed . It's that disease that can lead to that .

Speaker 2 6:53

It's something that if you don't actually do something about it this is the reason why I want to get you on the podcast is talking about how we repair things with nature and natural things , and I'm not talking about well , I am talking happy clapper because we know it works . Right Now , you were on the Humira injection and I take symphony , which is I have symphony every month because I've got a condition called sacroiliitis , which is an ankylosing spondylosis , so I do take it . Luckily for me now it's only 30 bucks a month , which it used to be about $800 , I guess when you were on it and Humira actually causes more problems , doesn't it ? Because it's an autoimmune suppressant , it leaves you vulnerable and wide open to everything else , doesn't it ?

Speaker 1 7:33

Yeah Well , when I look back , I was injecting myself . My body was highly inflamed . If you see photos of me from that time period , my face , everything is quite puffy . I was on these injections and these tablets , then I was drinking , then I was snorting lines of cocaine , then I was out partying . I wasn't sleeping properly , I wasn't eating properly . It's like no wonder my body was actually completely fried .

Speaker 2 7:57

We abuse it , and you were literally abusing your body . And then I guess you're female and you're a young girl as well . I would imagine that you would have been at the position where you're thinking oh no , but I've got to be skinny as well and I've got to look really hot and I've got to look great too .

Speaker 1 8:11

Yeah , I typically , surprisingly , haven't really battled with body issues , which I feel myself very lucky , but I've always been the gut issue girl You're lucky .

Speaker 1 8:19

Yeah , yeah , what brought you to that ? To be honest , because I feel most of my life I felt betrayed by my body because I grew up with like heaps of intolerances . So I was diagnosed with celiac disease before Crohn's disease . So my body has always been something that I've always wanted to get rid of . So I've never really felt connected to it . Apart from the last like two , three years where I've been doing lots of heavy work on actually reconnecting with myself , I never felt like I needed to be skinnier , I needed to be this way , because it was like my body was not even there for me .

Speaker 2 9:45

So your body failed , you let you down , but what you hadn't connected at that point in time is that you were probably the one that was creating those issues .

Speaker 1 9:53

Yeah , I was absolutely the problem .

Speaker 2 9:56

Okay . So I love that , because we don't realize , like everyone goes , oh , I've got IBS , and you think , oh , you poor thing , like it's a genetic disorder . It's not a genetic disorder . It's actually created by what you are actually doing to your body . So as soon as you got Crohn's disease and then you were in a position where you were actually trying to deal with that you were taking chimera injections and trying to cope with it . Did that change your life ?

Speaker 1 10:21

Absolutely . The catalyst , though , was a few months before that , when I was still studying , and I was studying meditation , therapy teaching , and I had had a weekend bender , so it was 3pm and I wake up and I had to submit an assignment on the nervous system , and I'm half gacked because . I've been on it for three days and I get out of my bed and I get my laptop and I submit my assessment and I just look at myself and I was like what the fuck are you doing ? It was that .

Speaker 2 10:50

Did you realize at that minute ? It was almost like a slap in the face of wait a minute , wait a minute . I'm submitting assignments around meditation , autonomic nervous system , and I'm doing this .

Speaker 1 11:01

Yeah , but I'd been doing this for six months and it was that moment that I was like you need to change something , otherwise you're going down a really bad path . You can keep partying , you can keep hanging out with these people who are not serving your future , or you can do this and something needs to change . So pick , and it was there that I went sober and I just go , I'm just gonna have one weekend without drinking . And it just kept going , kept going , kept going , kept going , and then it was maybe six months later that I took myself off my medication . So it was like a slow process .

Speaker 2 11:34

That is absolutely phenomenal . Now , what I want to talk about was you were right at the bottom of a very dark hole , right , and this is the point that I make . You sat there , you submitted your assignment and then you looked in the mirror and you went . You idiot , what are you doing Now ? This is where and I talk about this a lot of our shift workers are at this position because they just end up in almost a vortex that they don't seem to be able to arrest . And come back from . What was the first step that you took , caitlin , because I think this is really important , because it can seem incredibly overwhelming Like , as you said , you were drinking , you were doing drugs , you were partying , having three-day benders over weekends . That's a big , big thing to change . Everyone from the outside would think , oh , just stop this , just stop it all and you'll be fine . But it doesn't work that way , does it ?

Speaker 1 12:20

No . So the first thing I did was I had one sober weekend and it was just like cool , I can drink if I want . I never said like I can't drink , because I know that I'm a little bit bratty internally and if I don't let myself do something , I want to do it even more . So it was like , okay , I'm choosing not to drink , but if I want to , I can . And then I felt like I won and then I was like , okay , let's do another week , let's do another week . And then , because I wasn't drinking , I was driving , and then I was leaving earlier , and then I was getting home earlier and then I was having a better sleep and then I started finding a cold ocean dip community . So then I was doing that and then I got into breath work and it just snowball affected on and everything just started coming towards me . So , like by taking that first step , it just kept happening , which is really cool .

Speaker 2 13:05

Because what I say is it takes a discipline to create an action , and then the action brings the motivation to continually keep going , and this is what I preach with a lot of people . Now you gave yourself permission If I have a drink , I have a drink , but I'm going to go sober . You really enjoyed it , you felt great . And then you've gone another week and another week , and I think this is where people need to just break into that mouse wheel . Where you're actually on that mouse wheel going all the time . You've got to put one foot off it to slow it down so that you can actually start doing it .

Speaker 2 13:34

Now you've talked about giving up alcohol , Obviously because of the environment , I would imagine the alcohol , the drugs

The Impact of Stress on Health

Speaker 2 13:41

, went as well . Then you started to probably find that you've got more money to do things with as well , which gives you the opportunity to work on yourself . You realize that each step along the way was very , very important . When you look back on it now , you can see that that's huge . I've taken one step , two steps , three steps .

Speaker 2 14:02

If you want to look at your life now and at the end of this podcast , I want to get to what your life actually looks like every day now , because it's such a credit to you with what you do , with the discipline that you exercise and the results that you get out of it . You took one step after the other . Now you realize that the autonomous nervous system is probably one of the most important . Now I've just done a post on the autonomous nervous system and written a blog on it . Can you explain to the listeners what the autonomous nervous system is and why it actually was something that you looked at to impact in the biggest way for you ?

Speaker 1 14:39

Well , I was learning about it for my qualification , that I was studying , so I feel like it just kind of came into my life at the perfect opportune moment . But the autonomic nervous system is responsible for everything automatic in the body so blinking , breathing , heart rate , temperature regulation . It's also connected to your subconscious mind as well , so it controls all your like automatic behaviors and habits .

Speaker 2 15:00

I think we mainly talk about the two sides of the autonomic nervous system . Can you explain each side ?

Speaker 1 15:06

So we have two different states the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system . And sympathetic nervous system people have probably heard of before . This is our fight or flight response and it is our stress response in the body . So it is this incredible survival mechanism that is there to help us through like evolution , like run from a lion or like fucking throw down with a lion , and that's what it's there to do . And then , on the other side , we have our parasympathetic nervous system , which is our rest and digest or our feed and breed , and it's where we want to eat , we want to reproduce Everything's good and it's where we want to eat . We want to reproduce Everything's good , Everything's calm .

Speaker 1 15:43

But the problem is and where I was coming from and where a lot of like my clients come from as well is they're in that sympathetic state a lot of the time . And whilst we need that state to run from lions , fight lions or like survive , we don't need it checking our emails , we don't need it on our night shift , we don't need it when our partner texts us and they're like we need to talk . We don't need it for that . But we're constantly in that state of stress and it's causing so much damage to us .

Speaker 2 16:08

I want to cash in on this sympathetic side . I'm of the firm belief that majority of us in society today , unless you are aware , live in a sympathetic state . Majority of us . We don't understand the damage that that sympathetic state is doing to us . I think you and I would have an expression the mouth breathers and I call them the mouth breathers . It's literally that simple . A lot of people that are breathing through their mouth , it's not a sinus problem . They're actually living in a heightened state , aren't they ? Because that's your body's natural way of breathing when it is in that sympathetic state . So when we live in a sympathetic state , what is actually happening in our body ?

Speaker 1 16:51

That's great . I want to come back to like the mouth breathing thing as well , because a really good example of this is if you think about when your body gets in a stress response , like if you get scared , it's yep right , when you're exhausted , it's .

Speaker 1 17:03

It's natural for us to breathe through our mouths when we're stressed , so that's a really good way to look at it . But in the sympathetic state , because our body is prepared to fight or run , it doesn't need to spend our energy . It's energy , energy on fighting cancers , fighting diseases . It literally goes through the whole body and it's like cool , what am I doing here ? Liver Do I need to detox ? No , shut it down , okay . Kidneys Do I need to do anything there ? No , shut it down .

Speaker 1 17:28

Reproductive organs Do I need that right now , while I'm running from this freaking lion ? No , shut it down . Lungs let's go More oxygen heart rate up let's go oxygen heart rate up . Let's go . Arms what do we need ? More blood to them so we can fight ? Okay , hike that up . And if we're in that state on a day-to-day basis , you are literally not digesting your food properly , your body's not equipped to reproduce . You're gonna lose your libido . You're gonna lose your like zest for life . You're gonna like have heaps of gut issues because your body's like well , I'm running from a lion , man , I'm not going to digest this lasagna .

Speaker 2 17:59

Now we talk about that . A lot of shift workers , quite apart from the desynchronized circadian rhythm , do suffer from gut issues , ibs , particularly the females . I mean I talk about this often . They've got a compromised digestive tract . But we don't literally have to be running from a lion . But we are in this heightened state that is created . Give us some examples . What sort of things in our everyday life , caitlin , are actually causing us to be in this state where we are imitating running from a lion ?

Speaker 1 18:32

Well , this is the thing . The physiological response is the same Yep . The physiological response is the same yep . So even though you're like , okay , there's actually no lions because I am at work , your body's like , oh my god , there's a freaking lion and it responds the same .

Speaker 1 18:43

But on a day-to-day basis , anything that increases your cortisol is going to put you into that stress response . So blue light from your phone , huge one blue lights . If you're like constantly indoors like I'm thinking like hospital workers or like clinicians , if you're like constantly indoors , like I'm thinking like hospital workers or like clinicians , if you're under blue light constantly , that's going to increase the stress response in your system . Imagining it like you're trying to speak to someone and you've got really bad reception and it keeps like cutting in and out . So when we're in this stress response , your body's not actually communicating with the rest of your body properly and it's really hard to hear .

Speaker 1 19:20

That Like if you're on the phone to someone , you're like I don't actually know what you're saying . That's what your body's doing . So if you're in this stress response and you've got you're waking up and you've got blue light in your face from your phone , or you're constantly consuming things , you're eating processed shit , you're like over caffeinated , you're not getting outside enough . It's all adding , adding , adding to the noise and it's just ruining your communication channel .

Speaker 2 19:41

Now you've got a fantastic analogy of this that you've used before and I goddamn love this because I think it summarizes it really , really well . Hit us up with the club story . I love it . It's a great analogy of your autonomous nervous system trying to communicate with your body . It's a beauty .

Speaker 1 19:59

Thank you . So if we look at the autonomic nervous system like it's communicating brain , body , everything is connected right . It's like you're in a club

Reducing Noise for Better Health

Speaker 1 20:06

and you're standing near the speaker and then everything's happening . So you're getting all this external stimulus going on and that's your body looking at everything around you and internally . And then you're in the middle of the dance floor and then your friends right there trying to have this like deep and meaningful conversation with you . But you're like what the fuck , like I cannot actually hear what the hell is going on because there is so much other noise coming in . That is what's happening in your body . So if you have all this extra stress , all this inflammation , all this noise in your system , you can't communicate clearly with yourself .

Speaker 2 20:40

It's amazing because I put myself into this standing in a club . I mean , it's been a while since I've stood in a club . To be perfectly honest with you , I do go and see live bands and I love that , but standing in a club , you've got the stimuli of the lights , you've got the noise , you've got all the people around . People are bumping into you , moving past . Then you think , god , I've got to get to the toilet . Where is it ? There's so much going on , isn't there All the time ? Then , as you say , that's what your body is observing Now shift workers . I want you to listen to this very carefully , because this is what happens to you at work when that radio is crackling or you're dealing with that critical incident , or you're in a hospital and there's a I'm going to call it a code red . I've got no idea what the code is . There's a code red and everyone panics and runs to the patient and everyone's got to work on it .

Speaker 2 21:30

That's like being in the club , with all that stimuli and your nervous system is right in the middle of it . What it does is it shuts down all the processes that it doesn't need . It doesn't need to reproduce shut it down . It doesn't need to digest , shut it down . It doesn't need to breathe gently or breathe through the nose . It wants to breathe through the mouth because it wants oxygen , because it's increased your heart rate , it's increasing the blood flow for you to be able to perform .

Speaker 2 21:58

Now , when we go to the gym , that eustress , or that stress that we put in our system when we go to the gym , is a good stress and we want that . So when we're breathing through our mouth in the gym , that's a good stress . But we need to come back to that parasympathetic side again very quickly . So , while we're in the club and our friend is trying to talk to us , what's the best step for us to take from there ? If they've got something that they , like you know , you're there in the club and you've got your boyfriend with you and your girlfriend's got her boyfriend with you and all of a sudden you go oh , something's wrong here . What are you going to do to be able to hear what she actually has to say to you , so that you can communicate ?

Speaker 1 22:36

Well , that's a great question . What do you do ? Do you pretend that you just like nod along and you're like , yeah , yeah , no , what do you do ? You go , okay , that's exactly right . Let's leave , let's make it quieter so I can actually connect and understand what you're saying to me .

Speaker 2 22:51

Spot on , because you don't do that to your friend , do you ? But we do it to our body because we just smile and oh yeah , no worries , caitlin , it's all good . Yeah , yeah , yeah , no worries at all . You can't hear what it's actually saying to you . To be sympathetic to that body , so what you want to do is step outside , where it's quieter , so you can communicate . And this brings us to our next step , doesn't it ? That's what we do , and that's what we need to do more often . It's okay for us to go into that state , because it helps us to cope with that stimuli . But when your body's screaming at you , I can't hear , I can't understand what's going on . What on earth are you doing to me ? That's when we actually need to step outside and quieten it . What do we do to quieten it down ?

Speaker 1 23:36

Well , you need to have a look at where the noise is coming from . Right , and there's so many different things that can impact this . If we're going with the whole club analogy , are you waking up , first thing you do is like go on your phone and then you're getting 10 000 opinions about shit . It's not even just the light , it's also other people . Or are you waking up and then you're spending your morning rushing around like you're automatically in a stress response ? Yep , are you just filling your body with processed garbage that has more chemicals than ingredients in it ? That is going to add noise to the system . Because we've also got to consider that our bodies aren't adapted for the modern world as much as we think they are . No Right , we are made to lay around in the sun and be free and be happy and not be under constant stress and blue light and doing all these things to ourselves . So we've got to go okay , where is this noise actually coming from and what can I do about it ? Am I spending enough time alone ? Am I spending enough time outside in nature ? Am I spending enough time doing nothing ? Am I fueling my body with the right fuel ?

Speaker 1 24:39

If you put canola oil in a Ferrari . Are you going to blame the Ferrari for not working ? No , that's right , you're going to go . Okay , it's what I'm putting in it . Your body is exactly the same so harsh , but true . Whatever you're experiencing right now is because of the information you're putting in your body . Oh , hold on , and it's not accidental .

Speaker 2 24:58

I hope you're enjoying the show . If you are , please don't forget to rate and review once you've finished . This helps the show's reach enormously . And have you got my free ebook the Best Way to Eat on Night Shift ? Well , this is a comprehensive guide to the overnight fast , why we should fast and how to best go about it . I've even included a few recipes to help you . I've put a link to the ebook in the show notes .

Speaker 2 25:24

And are you really struggling with shift work and feel like you're just crawling from one shift to the next ? Well , I've got you . If you would like to work with me , I can coach you to thrive , not just survive , while undertaking the rigours of 24-7 shift work . I also conduct in-house live health and wellbeing seminars where I will come to your workplace and deliver evidence-based information to help your wellbeing team to reduce unplanned leave and increase productivity in your workplace . I've put the links in the show notes to everything mentioned . You can find me at ahealthyshiftcom or on Instagram at a underscore healthy , underscore shift .

Speaker 2 26:09

Now let's get back to the show . If only more people understood this , caitlin . Our body is literally responding to the data that we're putting into it . Food , light , hydration , stress management , movement Take all those away . I just happened to slip in my five pillars of health there , but if you are making sure that you are feeding it the right data and I say this all the time as well when it comes to sleep , people say I'm not a good sleeper . Where's the problem ? Because there's going to be a problem somewhere , isn't there .

Speaker 1 26:43

Absolutely . Your body is always sending you messages .

Speaker 2 26:46

It is . You've just got to tune in . What's the best way to actually tune into those messages , caitlin , because I know you're a master at this , and I think this is the key message that I want to get across to a lot of my shift working community , because they don't realize that they're not receiving the messages . They know there's problems , they're gaining weight , they've got aches , pains , problems , stress , can't sleep . How do we check in with ourselves and what sort of strategies can we put in place to actually help us to listen to what our body is telling us and then to strategize around what we need to give it ?

Speaker 1 27:18

So , again , my first step would be to get out of the club as much as possible . Can you move away ? Can you move to the back where the music isn't as loud ? Right , we want to take away shit before we add stuff . So , instead of adding , okay , I need to do 20 minutes of meditation every day . It's like how about you just take away your nightly Netflix ? Remove stuff before you start to add , because minimizing the noise is going to help , even if you don't meditate or even if you don't like the idea of things like that . Go for a walk in a park without listening to anything . Go for a walk on the beach . Go and sit outside in the middle of the day if you're a shift worker , like before you start your shift and just sit .

Speaker 2 27:59

Yep .

Speaker 1 28:00

Because that is how you connect with yourself . It's in the moment of just being you , where you're not the police officer , the nurse , whatever you are the wife , the husband , the boyfriend , the girlfriend . You just get to be you , yeah , and you can't expect to connect in when you're constantly stimulated with things .

Speaker 2 28:17

No , that's totally true too . These goddamn phones are such a massive problem to us because they make us available to people all the time and , unfortunately , we get a dopamine hit from it , like we send a message to a girlfriend and we're waiting and then ping oh , what did she say ? What did she say , you know ? So it keeps us in that constantly high alert zone . We need to step away from the noise for a period of time Stillness is the key and being on our own and that's a Ryan Halliday book that we sit in ourselves , because that's when all our good thoughts come , without the confusion .

Speaker 2 28:52

So you then identified , once you stepped away from the noise , which was creating all the problems for your body . I want to talk about my favorite topic of all , which is also your favorite topic of all , which is why we've connected so well which is the circadian rhythm and the impact that that has on our health in so many ways . The floor's yours , caitlin . Tell me what you've learned out of going from three-day benders , doing alcohol , drugs , being out all the time , to what your life now looks like in your health and wellbeing .

Speaker 1 29:30

Where do I start ? That's such a loaded question . I think , especially when it comes to shift work , your circadian rhythm is going to be your number one , because it is like it's your

The Power of Light and Sleep

Speaker 1 29:38

sleep and wake cycles . It's also in charge of every hormone , every neurotransmitter in your body . It's all to do with the light environment that you're in . If we think about it as we're meant to be , we wake up with the sun . We should be outside right , and we get the morning infrared light in our eyes and that's going into our eyes , into our brain , and it's going hey , all right , it's time to signal all the things that we need for the morning . It's not going . Okay , it's time to sleep . Right , it's not going . Let's produce some melatonin ? It's going . Let's have some um cortisol ? Okay , let's do this , let's do that and let's like get the body moving , and that's where we get our energy from , especially women .

Speaker 1 30:20

If we're not in sync with nature , it's going to be really hard for us to produce estrogen and like progesterone and all the things that we need to have a healthy period or fertility journey , or whatever it is . If we then are going to sleep but we're laying on the couch and we've just got like constant TV , tv , tv and our big lights on our body's like what the heck time is it Like ? I have no idea , because we've got daylight yet . It's nine o'clock and so our body's like all right , well , I'm going to be awake , so let's just do some shit . And then it's like hang on , now I'm trying to go to sleep and you can't sleep . So it's like you're confusing your body so much with your light environment . And , if I can say one thing , it's like , even if you're a shift worker , it's to get your light environment as close to natural as possible , because it impacts and influences every other system in your body .

Speaker 2 31:10

Now , I swear to God , I didn't pay Caitlin to say that . I swear to God , I did not pay Caitlin to say that . That's why we're on the same page with all of this . If there's one thing that I am a massive proponent of , and that's because I've connected very well with Dr Martin Moreed now in relation to his book the Light Doctor , and we need to understand that we all have a right to healthy lighting in our homes . One point that I really want to make , which I actually spoke about on my story this morning , one point that I really want to make which I actually spoke about on my story this morning , is with that blue light .

Speaker 2 31:45

Once it's dark and we are exposing ourselves to blue light by looking at our phones , watching TV , and what we don't realize is as well is those lights overhead and in our lamps and everywhere that are in our house are actually emitting artificial blue light , which is at the actual frequency or the 480 nanometers that we don't want coming into our eyes , because what it does is it inhibits melatonin . Now , a lot of people will say research also supports this as well that blue light our phone only inhibits sleep by about seven to nine minutes , so really it's not that bad . Maybe it's just the content that we're absorbing . That's one way of looking at it , but what that's not looking at as well is it's actually inhibiting our melatonin . Now , melatonin is not something that we have to have to sleep , but it does help .

Speaker 2 32:30

But melatonin is our body's lifeguard and melatonin runs through our system during the night while we're sleeping , and what it's doing is it's collecting and combating those free radicals that are running around our system , which is the cancer cells . And this is one of the main reasons why females in particular suffer from breast cancer . So much males with prostate cancer . But since the inception of blue , rich LED light , we're in a position where our incidence of breast cancer in females has increased 50% not just a small amount massively . So if I came and knocked on your door and said here's a jar of cancer , you would slam the door in my face , right , but you're happy to lie in bed and look at your mobile phone .

Speaker 1 33:13

Yeah , I love that . It's like looking at the melatonin , because melatonin also needs pure darkness for two to three hours to start even producing melatonin and , like you said , it fights free radicals . There's so much to it . It is actually so incredible for your body . We need it , and so sleep should be number one , like sleep and light . You could be eating McDonald's every day , and if you have your sleep and light right , it's not going to affect you as much .

Speaker 2 33:42

But it's the onboarding of everything . Yeah , I agree with that , because what we don't realize is how many people sit on the couch at night watching TV and they're snacky . The reason why you're snacky is because blue light actually increases your appetite . So people are thinking , oh , but if you take the blue light out , so the appetite decreases as well . And where you say live in line with the circadian rhythm and get your light diet right . When you do that , you actually won't eat as much as what you think you will eat , because you feel fantastic . You're not actually living on this cycle of totally imbalanced hormones , of ghrelin , leptin , all of those sort of things which are causing us problems . You see me talking sky before screen on the phone , but I know you do something different . What do you do in relation to your phone first thing in the morning , like talk us through .

Speaker 1 34:27

Don't touch it .

Speaker 2 34:28

I know that's why you booked this appointment for 10.30 this morning . I know that that's what you did because you won't do electronics beforehand . Talk about that , caitlin , because it's really , really important that a lot of people understand this , particularly as a young girl . When I say young girl , you know someone that thrives on social media for your business and things like that . Talk about your morning with your mobile phone .

Speaker 1 34:49

So my phone charges in the kitchen . It's on airplane mode as well . I have an alarm clock . If I need in my room like an analog alarm clock .

Speaker 2 34:57

One of those old-fashioned things .

Speaker 1 34:58

I have an alarm clock if I need in my room , like an analog alarm clock , one of those old-fashioned things , one of those , yeah , an old-fashioned alarm clock . I wake up at like 5.30 . I'll be out the door by 5.40 . I live across the road from the beach , so I'll go for a morning beach walk barefoot , no sunnies on . That just helps my body . That sees the morning infrared as much skin as possible and I'm getting my grounding in as well , which is obviously really important , which I'm sure you've spoken about . I'll have my breakfast . I'll sometimes start working .

Speaker 1 35:24

I do little tasks , but I don't turn my phone back on until anywhere between nine to sometimes one o'clock . I just don't need it , even though I run my business on Instagram or on social media and I'm like quite active on there . My mornings , especially the first , like three to four hours are for me and I noticed such a big difference in my clarity levels , my calmness , my stress levels , my focus as well , like if I could just sit down and if I've got protocol to write or I've got to get back to clients or whatever , anything I can do from my laptop , I can do it , but I don't need my phone . I don't need to be accessible 24 seven . No one needs to be accessible 24 seven .

Speaker 1 36:01

We live in this urgent environment where it's like , oh my God , this person , I've got to get back to them as soon as I wake up , especially when it comes to work . I've got to get back to this email . No , you don't . It's really not that urgent . We think it's urgent and we have the urgent hormones in us because we're like so running off cortisol which is telling us everything is urgent , everything needs to happen . But when you take that time for yourself and you eat and you're really mindful with your food and you've got the sun on your face and you're just enjoying every single mouthful , and then you're spending time with your family , or you're spending time with your dogs , or you're reading , or you're enjoying your morning coffee or whatever it is , you just feel so much fucking oh yeah , and you're not missing out on anything , are you ?

Speaker 1 36:41

There's nothing happening on the phone . That can't wait two hours . I'm sorry , but your brain will try to tell you otherwise .

Speaker 2 36:46

All the successful people in the world as well will go through that . They will not touch their phones because they know it's such a distraction when they time block . They will block in time to use their phone to respond to DMs or respond to social medias , and that and I'll be honest , this is still an area that I need to do a hell of a lot of work on for myself . Right , it takes a hell of a discipline , but I think it's one of those things that when you do do it , it makes a huge difference into your life . Now , caitlin , you've spoken about your health was really poor tubes and abscesses and all sorts of problems that you had . Where are you at now and over what period of time ? At what cost ? Because majority of what you've told me so far waking up and not touching your phone , going for a beach walk so far , we're at $0 , aren't we ?

Speaker 1 37:33

Everything is $0 .

Speaker 2 37:34

Everything is $0 . Literally everything that you do that works really well for you is at $0 .

Speaker 1 37:40

I'm actually saving money because I'm not turning lights on . I also don't have a TV or a microwave .

Speaker 2 37:45

Oh my God , you don't even have a TV at all .

Speaker 1 37:47

I sold all my things to move to Queensland last year and then it never happened . So I never bought a TV , but I don't watch it . So it's again removing the noise . I don't use it , but I'm also . I just don't watch it anyway . So it's fine .

Speaker 2 38:03

It's kind of funny because we don't watch commercial TV at all in our place . We do watch TV series in the evening and it's our wind down time , much to your disgust , and I know you do . This is what I love about it as well , and this is a point that I wanted to talk about . Alcohol when you gave up alcohol like because I gave up alcohol on the 1st of January and I haven't touched alcohol since and I'm incredibly proud of myself for that and I will say I have found it ridiculously easy how did you find it socially as a younger girl giving up alcohol ?

Speaker 1 38:36

To be honest , I found it incredibly challenging more because I couldn't run from anything anymore internally , so it wasn't so much my friends or anything like that , but I had to actually look at the demons and the things about myself that I didn't like that I was using alcohol to numb and avoid . So the first few months were incredibly challenging , but it was the full rocket ship that just catapulted my growth . I've learned more about myself since being sober for three years than I had in the 20 , whatever years before that , so it was like the best thing that I've ever done .

Speaker 2 39:10

So three years .

Speaker 1 39:11

Three years , November yeah .

Speaker 2 39:13

That's fantastic . Congratulations , because it really does . I think you sum this up in a very , very good way . It's the rocket ship that launched you into where you are today by giving up alcohol . Do I ask about whether you gave up drugs ?

Speaker 1 39:26

as well . Yeah , drugs as well , yeah , yeah , everything completely sober . That would be funny as .

Speaker 2 39:36

No , no , I still do lines , but I'm not drinking alcohol .

Speaker 1 39:41

No UDLs , but yes , get me a bag , that's right .

Speaker 2 39:44

Yes , of course . Now , that's another thing as well . When you talk about drugs , and particularly things like cocaine as well . It's a really bad cycle , isn't it that ? It's fantastic when you're on it on the weekend , but , geez , it's a horrendous crash after the weekend as well , isn't it ? And how it impacts on can't be bothered . Don't want to do this , don't want to do that . Poor food choices around that . Because of how apathetic you are and how lethargic you are around everything . The energy that comes with being in line with your circadian rhythm is on a scale of one to a hundred is a hundred , isn't it ? It really does make a big difference to you when you actually do that .

Speaker 1 40:20

Yeah , even before that , I was having maybe two or three black coffees a day . I used to smoke cigarettes , I used to drink , I used to do cocaine and my energy . Now , when I have water with electrolytes , maybe a coffee here and there , you just don't need it because you have your mitochondria , your everything , your powerhouses . Your cells are just more energized because you're not feeding your Ferrari conval oil like you're fueling it properly .

Speaker 2 40:46

The shift workers just don't realize that they only have to take one small step and it really can perpetuate into such a massive change for them that just continues to grow . If I was to look at your day today as to where you're at today , which is now life for you would you go through your day today as to where you're at today , which is now life for you ? Would you go through your day just to go through your day , as I mean not everything , but just go through your day , but let's go through your routine in a day , just to give people a picture of what it looks like for you today as a young business manager yourself doing what you're doing . How ?

Speaker 1 41:23

does it look . Well , every day is different , which I absolutely freaking love . I typically don't have routines . I like to call them rituals because I feel that I spend them

Creating Healthy Daily Rituals

Speaker 1 41:34

intentionally . So it's not things that I do because I have to . It's things that I get up and I love to do . For example , this morning it's 10.30 or 11-ish I've been for a beach walk , I've eaten breakfast in the sun , I ran down to the post office to get some things , I checked in with my clients and then I've got two client calls . I'll go to the gym around five o'clock . I'll have dinner , probably before then . I have like early breakfast and then an early dinner . I sometimes don't even eat lunch because I'm just eating what my body needs and I don't need snacks and I don't need extra things .

Speaker 2 42:09

Checking in with yourself , you know , you just don't feel like eating .

Speaker 1 42:11

I'm not eating because someone told me that I need to eat three meals a day .

Speaker 2 42:15

It's lunchtime . Yeah , you don't eat , because oh , it's lunchtime , I have to eat .

Speaker 1 42:18

Yeah , if my body's hungry at two o'clock , it's getting a meal . If my body's hungry again at six o'clock , it's getting a meal .

Speaker 2 42:24

Yep , so you're back in tune with the hunger and satiety scale , getting to the stage where you know that I've had enough , or I don't really feel like , or is it real hunger , or is it something else going on here as well , which is a really important thing to get back in touch with as well ? You go to the gym at five o'clock now I'm going to talk about that in a minute but then , after you've been to the gym , what happens then ?

Speaker 1 42:43

I will take my dog for a little sunset walk depending on the sun and then I will do typically like half an hour or an hour of study just to evolve myself I'm learning about mitochondria at the moment , which is just blowing my little mind and then I'll shower blinds go down , I make a cup of tea and I get into bed by like 8 or 8.30 . I read and then I'm out by 9 and it's the best .

Speaker 2 43:07

And I think this is really , really important . By the same token , I want to talk to people about this is optimal as well . Not everyone can live like that . Obviously , a nurse that's working in a hospital can't live the way that you live , and we are talking a 9 to 5 type of routine and I'm very respectful of that . But where shift workers make the mistake is when they can control it . They don't control it . That's the biggest problem that we have today and that's one of the things that I wanted to talk about there with that , because you know , getting that light diet right . I honestly believe now we talk about , oh , I'm going to do vegetarian , I'm going vegan or I've got to do carnivore , I'm going to do all these different diets that make a big difference in our life , for whatever reasons they may , but the main diet that we need to get right is our light diet , and that's why I've coined that and I say we've got to get that light diet right , because the more we are in sync and in line with it and I know shift workers scoff me and go you're so out of touch with reality , rog , but you know what I talk about what's optimal .

Speaker 2 44:06

I also know that shift workers are the greatest self-sabotagers as well , and even when they've got the opportunity they don't do the right thing . They will come home . Oh , I need to unwind when I get home . So they sit there scrolling on their phone with the TV going until 2 o'clock in the morning , go to bed and lying in bed until you know nine , 10 o'clock in the morning , roll over , scroll the phone until midday , get up . I know I'm talking to you , you can hear what I'm saying and this is you . And that's the thing People they feel seen , because I'm looking right at them , because I was there . That's the problem . You're not doing it for yourself and you're not doing the right thing for yourself as well . Mitochondria you're studying mitochondria at the moment . Start reading about infrared light and the mitochondria .

Speaker 1 44:49

Yes , I'm learning all about it and easy water and just the hydration aspects of it and how it affects everything . It's very exciting .

Speaker 2 44:56

Electrolytes . Electrolytes will make a big difference to your mitochondria as well . It really helps to energize the cell and the infrared light massive for your mitochondria . Massive Because what it does is it accelerates the ATP in the cell . It energizes you more , which is why when you go for that beautiful walk along the beach with the sun in the morning , you're getting all of that infrared light through your cells and it's energizing you . It's that simple . Once again , it's all about the light , and I've still got to tell you you still got to go and get that infrared sauna for your home because you're going to love it forever . That'll be where I'll find you every single night . Now , 20 minutes , it's not bad . Anything you'd like to discuss that we haven't discussed at this point in time in relation to your journey .

Speaker 1 45:41

I think we've pretty much covered a lot of it . I guess my main message is to just listen to your body , think about what is worth it , because to me I was partying and I thought I had the dream job and all the things , but at the end of the day , if you don't have your health , what do you have ? And it's just all comes down to listening to yourself and you know that even if it's normalized , it's not normal . Gut issues are not normal . Losing your period isn't normal . Cancers isn't normal . Just because it's common , it doesn't mean that that's what we should be going through .

Speaker 2 46:10

No , it's common because we're doing all the wrong things , and I think that's important too . I was having a conversation with my mum only last week and she's in her 80s and she said to me I wish I'd gone to the gym when I was younger . I wish I had created that repetition of just going into the gym and just doing a bit . If we could just put that wisdom onto younger people to understand that and to eat well , get that light diet right , it would make such a difference to our community . Caitlin , I just think that what you're doing is fantastic with such energy , with how you go about doing it as well . Have you got anything exciting that's coming up that you want to push out ? Because I'm more than happy to push it out , because you're heading in the right area .

Speaker 1 46:51

I'm about to launch my first online school community , called Holistic House , and this has heaps of emotional regulation protocols , masterclasses about circadian biology , blue light , a little bit of spiritual stuff as well . We'll do monthly Q&As , monthly breathwork sessions . It's just going to be honestly the best , and so if you want to find that , you can find it on my Instagram .

Speaker 2 47:12

You better tell us where your Instagram is , so that we know where it's to find you , and you better spell it , because I've pronounced it's Menear , but you better actually spell it out as to where people can find you .

Speaker 1 47:23

That would be amazing . So you can find me on Instagram at Caitlin Menaire , so K-A-I-T-L-Y-N-M-E-N-E-R-E , and you can tune into my podcast as well . She Said what Question mark exclamation .

Speaker 2 47:44

And I think for people that need to see you and see who you are and what you're doing from where you've come from , shows you can make such a change in such a little period of time by literally just getting your life back in sync with what it needs to be and focusing on all of those sort of things . Caitlin , I finished off the podcast with the one question that I have to ask everyone , and you told me that you were packing up to move to Queensland . But if I bought you a holiday house because I've just won millions of dollars and I do this to all of my guests , right . But if I bought you a holiday house because I've just won millions of dollars and I do this to all of my guests , right . If I bought you a holiday house anywhere in the world but you have to live in it for six months , right , no matter where it is , I don't care where it is and it will have everything that opens , shuts , walks and talks anything that you want . Where would you like me to build it for you ?

Speaker 1 48:19

Oh my gosh .

Speaker 2 48:22

You're a spoiled girl today , anyway .

Speaker 1 48:27

Am I alone ? This is such a loaded question .

Speaker 2 48:30

It is Well , you can take your doggo , you can take anything if you want , or you can do whatever . It's up to you , but I'm going to build it . But where do you want to be for six months of ?

Speaker 1 48:42

the year and you can take whoever it is , doesn't matter . I think I would go like either the amalfi coast or like costa rica or something somewhere super warm beach , lots of light , lots of fresh food , away from people oh , so it's not going to be a party house with lots of room I can just lay on the beach all day in the sun and it will just be amazing .

Speaker 2 49:05

Fantastic . I love this , caitlin Amalfi Coast . You couldn't go wrong . I've been to the Amalfi Coast and I think the fresh produce and the walks along the God's Walk across the high part of the Amalfi Coast is absolutely unbelievable . Yeah , so I think that's great , caitlin . Thank you so much for coming on the show . I really appreciate you . That's great , caitlin . Thank you so much for coming on the show . I really appreciate you , and I do want people to go over and follow what you're actually doing as well . I think it's very , very important in society today that more people like you are pushing that message out . Thank you so much . This has been the best Rog Lovely to have a chat , isn't she fantastic ? Now , caitlin is someone that I would recommend that you go over and have a follow as well . I will put her details into the show notes , which is her Instagram .

Speaker 2 49:47

I think you will have heard that analogy of what it's like to be in a club and all that noise around and , as a shift worker , this is literally what it's like for us in our everyday life . Now what we need to do is we need to step away from that noise and that stimulation and become quite comfortable with ourselves . As you heard what Caitlin had to say . Now Caitlin was in a world of hurt and I've heard her describe just how bad it was in another podcast , which was really quite graphic , but we didn't go down that line in this one here . But let me just say this to you this shows you how these free strategies that you can put in place by aligning your circadian rhythm , by actually just doing all the simple things light earthing , getting out movement and blocking that blue light , getting your light diet right , removing those devices from your life this all makes a massive difference . So you can see where Caitlin's got to now . She really has made such a complete turnaround in her few short years and I'm talking four years , which in the scheme of life is very small .

Speaker 2 51:04

I want to say thank you so much to Caitlin for joining us . I want to thank you , the listener , for actually getting

Expressing Gratitude and Seeking Feedback

Speaker 2 51:10

to this particular point in the podcast and I hope you really enjoyed that episode . And if you did , please let us know by just giving us a review on the podcast , just by hitting those five stars , and if you're on Apple , you can go down to the bottom and you can actually write a review . It would only take a few minutes . We'd love it , and I will catch you on the next one , so you get notified whenever a new episode is released . It would also be ever so helpful if you could leave a rating and review on the app you're currently listening on . If you want to know more about me or work with me , you can go to ahealthyshiftcom . I'll catch you on the next one .