Speaker 1: 1:12

The reality is, shift work is not an even playing field for men and for women. And today, on International Women's Day, guys relax. It's important that we acknowledge our superhuman females. For you, ladies, today it's all about you. International Women's Day. Here's a bonus episode just for you. Shift work can be brutal, but it doesn't have to be. Welcome to a healthy shift.

Speaker 1: 1:46

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. Enjoy today's show. Welcome back to a Healthy Shift podcast. I am your host, roger Sutherland, and today I wanted to do something really special.

Speaker 1: 2:29

It's International Women's Day today, which is a day for us to recognise and to celebrate the incredible women in our lives. Let's be brutally honest If it wasn't for a woman in your life, you literally would not be here. So let's just keep that foremost in our mind to start off with. But I want to particularly acknowledge those who dedicate themselves to the frontline, healthcare and emergency services, and all of you female shift workers and mothers, women the whole lot. Let's encompass the whole lot today because I want to talk all about you, Not only acknowledge it, but I want to acknowledge why it's harder, and I also want to give you strategies as to how you can go about combating this.

Speaker 1: 3:10

Right now, shift work is very, very challenging for everybody and there's no argument there. But for women, the difficulties are amplified. If you're wondering, is shift work harder for females than it is for males? Even if you weren't wondering, I'm here to tell you it absolutely is. So. If you women are looking around the room at your male colleagues and thinking, I know, I'm doing this harder, you are 100% correct and the evidence supports this. So today I want to acknowledge all of these challenges and I want to explore why shift work can be harder for women and, most importantly, I'm going to share some strategies to help you women, to navigate this demanding career while prioritizing your own health and well-being.

Speaker 1: 3:55

First of all, let's address why shift work is actually harder for women, and the reality is that shift work is not an equal playing field at all, and we men we have to accept this. Women face unique physiological and social pressures that make this lifestyle even tougher for them. So let's break down some key reasons that make this lifestyle even tougher for them. So let's break down some key reasons, and the first one number one hormonal challenges. Women's bodies operate on a very, very complex hormonal cycle Guys, we know this, girls you know this as well and this impacts sleep, metabolism and also mood. Disrupting this with shift work can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, increased PMS symptoms and even greater fatigue compared to men. The implications of circadian disruption on the infradian rhythm is enormous and this really does actually upset everything hormonally. And that's the first point that I wanted to make. It's very different for men.

Speaker 1: 5:01

Number two is the increased care responsibilities. Like it or not, guys, 99%, many female shift workers are not just employees. We have to remember that. A lot of them are mothers, they're partners, they're caregivers, they're just absolutely the jack-of-all-trades in our lives. So balancing night shifts with childcare, school drop-offs, household duties is an exhausting juggling act that leaves little time for their own self-care. And this leads to another problem, and this is my third point mum guilt. Put your hand up, ladies. I know many shift working mothers struggle with the feelings of guilt for missing key family moments, school events or simply just not being present when their children really need them. Now this emotional burden can lead to increased stress, exhaustion and even burnout. It impacts enormously and it's important to acknowledge that being a shift-working mum does not make you any less of a great mother. You are doing your absolute best and you're providing for your family in a way that requires immense sacrifice and strength.

Speaker 1: 6:20

Now, number four higher risk of burnout and fatigue. Studies are quite clear and show that women in shift work environments report higher rates of sleep disturbances, anxiety and chronic fatigue. The combination of workplace stress and home life demands can lead to burnout much faster than that of their male counterparts. Facts Number five the metabolic and the weight management struggles. Now, due to these hormonal fluctuations in females, women's bodies store fat differently, and shift work further disrupts metabolism. Night shift can actually increase cravings for high calorie processed foods, and this makes it a lot harder to maintain a healthy weight and energy levels. And that comes with its own complications as well. Body image issues massive. We as men, and also society, put ridiculous amounts of pressure on females in relation to how they're supposed to look, how they're supposed to talk, how they're supposed to behave and what they're supposed to do. Keep that in mind.

Speaker 1: 7:34

I also want to talk about this, which is one that I've done a complete podcast episode on all myself as a solo episode, and that is the differences between the male and the female digestive tract. Now, women have a longer digestive tract than men, which means that food actually takes longer to transit through their digestive tract. In fact, it's approximately 14 hours longer. Females have a less acidic stomach and the stomach empties slower, and they also have a longer colon, and the colon takes longer to empty as well. And I want guys, females, think about it when are your sexual reproductive organs Internal? Where are the males External? So in the female, they have all of their digestive tract packed into the same space as their reproductive organs. So it's no wonder that when you're in the luteal phase of your cycle, the last two weeks prior to menstruation, while everything's highly agitated, if you've got an agitated colon or bowel digestive tract in that area as well, is it any wonder that you suffer from gas, bloating and digestive discomfort? This is something that you have to be aware of. It's really, really important Now.

Speaker 1: 10:05

This slower digestion also leads to more bloating, discomfort and also irregular bowel movements as well, especially when we combine this with shift work, because we not only have disrupted eating patterns by not eating food at the right time according to our circadian rhythm, but we have a desynchronized circadian rhythm as well, which is dictating when certain hormones are released and times, and we're having massive problems with just trying to sync all of that up, aren't we? Dehydration is another massive problem as well for females, and females with this longer digestive tract, you need to be drinking more water to make sure that everything is moving nicely through your system. This is a very good reason. Women also have a much greater sensitivity to certain foods, which can also make dietary adjustments during shift work even more important for you. So keep that in mind.

Speaker 1: 11:06

The digestive tract is very, very compromised in a female, and one of the reasons why you do get the gas and bloating. Don't just blame it on your menstrual cycle. It could very well be that you're not getting enough water or you're putting too many processed foods in there. You might need to be putting more whole foods in. It may help you a lot more.

Speaker 1: 11:29

In and around that, we also have increased work pressures for females as well, and you, ladies, I'm sure you can put your hand up as well, because women in emergency services as well as healthcare that are trying to achieve higher jobs often feel that they have to work twice as hard to prove themselves in a male-dominated environment, and this pressure, combined with the regular sleep patterns, can really take a toll on your both mental as well as your physical health as well. Okay, there's identifying just some, and I would be quite sure that a lot of you could come up with other things as well. Absolutely no doubt, and I invite you to let me know, but they're just some of the seven points that I just did want to make that really do severely impact. So what strategies are there that we can actually put in place to help you, ladies, or that you need to be aware of? Now that we've acknowledged the challenges, let's focus on what you can control. Remember, control the controllables.

Speaker 1: 12:33

So what can you do to help your health and wellbeing while you're working shifts? Number one and you know it's coming because it's always my number one, and that is you've got to prioritize your sleep as a non-negotiable. You need to create a sleep sanctuary. It's got to be dark, it's got to be cool, it's got to be quiet and it's got to be uncluttered. Stand at your bedroom door, have a look into your room. Is that somewhere where you would really want to just nest in and sleep? That's the key. Standing at the door and having a look in, you need to invest in quality blackout curtains and a nice soft eye mask and a white noise machine to block out that noise so that you can get that sleep when you need that sleep.

Speaker 1: 13:18

I think what is also important, as a female partner or mum as well, is to communicate with your family about the importance of this undisturbed sleep. Sometimes, just having that conversation and making them aware can make such a big difference. Don't assume that they know, and there's nothing worse than you coming out in the middle of a sleep when you've been disturbed, roaring at the family because they've done something wrong that they didn't realize. How about a conversation beforehand? Communicate Now. Number two work with your hormones and not against them.

Speaker 1: 13:54

What about we sync a little bit of nutrition with your cycle as well? Now, we don't train around the cycle, we don't do nutrition, but we can certainly help, and what we do need, as a female, is we need to opt for iron-rich foods and healthy fats. Super important Healthy fats are what actually helps to manufacture the hormones in our body, and by not putting healthy fats into our body, we actually leave ourselves really struggling. And iron-rich foods. Females need more iron, particularly heme iron, which comes from red meat, not just the leafy greens, but we also need that heme iron as well. Purely because of menstruation, females lose a lot more iron and we need to make sure that we're putting more iron into our system. Also, I would consider a magnesium supplement and vitamin B supplement as well, just to support your menstruation and menstrual cycle, because it can help to relax. Magnesium can help to relax the muscles and help you in other ways. We need to stay hydrated as well to help with our hormone regulation so important and don't underestimate the power of this hydration as well Really important. So that's what we can do.

Speaker 1: 15:11

We need to simplify our nutrition choices. So that's what we can do. We need to simplify our nutrition choices, ladies. I can't emphasize this enough. We need to pack high-protein, nutrient-dense snacks like nuts and boiled eggs, greek yogurts, protein powders, protein bars. We need to be making sure that we are getting a high-protein diet. This is going to help. Protein are the building blocks of our body and will make an enormous difference to your general health and wellbeing. And for those of you ladies that go out there and go and buy hair, skin and nail supplements off the shelf, what about you? Just increase the protein. Protein are the building blocks of our hair, of our skin and of our nails. And if you look at anybody that consumes a lot of protein, have a look at their skin, have a look at their hair and look how strong their nails are. It's that simple. You don't need the supplements, you just need to increase your protein.

Speaker 1: 16:07

The other thing that we need to do, females, avoid excessive caffeine and also sugar, because what happens is this caffeine is a digestive irritant. Caffeine's great Like. As a shift worker, we need to manipulate our caffeine to our advantage, but we don't want to be having too much of it because it will literally impact on our digestive tract and sugar. We've got to stop the sugar, reduce the sugar so that we don't get these spikes and then these crashes which leave you feeling flat and moody. Think about it all right and plan and prep those meals on your days off to reduce the stress and also that decision fatigue of what to cook and when during your shifts, while you're lucid and sitting there quietly. You've dropped the kids off at school, go home, sit down, get your phone, have six snacks, six breakfasts, six lunches, six dinners already in your phone something that you can reduce that decision fatigue. So when you get to the supermarket, you don't have to think or text someone and say what do you want for dinner? I don't know, and you can't find I don't know in the supermarket. Think about it. All right, that's another one.

Speaker 1: 17:22

Now what we also need to do and I think particularly mum shift workers in a big way is you've got to set these boundaries between home and work. Now, I talk about this often, but you can't be sitting there on your WhatsApp groups or your Facebook groups or messengers talking to people who you've literally just left at work. Turn it off and get away from it. Be present with your partner, be present with your children. Learn to say no to extra commitments when you are already stretched thin in both your home and your work life. Don't just go to earn extra money, because it's going to come as an impact. What price are you putting on your health? You need to turn around and say no. It's so empowering. I need you, ladies, to remember this and I say this in such a strong way because I've coached hundreds of females and I know, particularly the nurses massive problems with just trying to say no to additional shifts. Stop it, wind back. It's a them problem, it's not a you problem. The fact that they're short-staffed is a them problem, and the more that you keep putting the fingers in the leaks in the dike, then the more they are going to keep on doing this. All right. You need to back it right off and let them really feel the impact of being short-staffed so that they do something about it.

Speaker 1: 18:54

We need to share our household responsibilities as well. It is not something that you have to do all alone. You need to just communicate. You need to use your big words and you need to communicate so that you can actually say hey, I need help with this, even if it comes down to your kids. Mummy's really tired. Do you think you could pick those things up and put them away for her? Because kids know they understand and know. All you got to do is communicate with them. Make time for your own self-care, whether that's exercise, whether it's a meditation or just a simple walk on your own, or even just 10 minutes for some simple control, breathing, some breath work. All right, really, really important. Just a little bit of time for yourself to disconnect and just take that overactive amygdala offline.

Speaker 1: 19:44

And what you also need to do is just connect with other women in shift work. Build a strong support network with colleagues who understand the struggles. That doesn't mean that you need to communicate with them outside of work all the time and whinge. Remember, the more you whinge, the more you will struggle in that whinge mode. What you need to do is support each other, help each other, do what you can for each other and actually just be there to reassure each other. Talk openly about your challenges, because the chances are you're not alone in what you're actually feeling. Don't think that you're hopeless and you can't cope. Don't think that because you got into the supermarket and you found yourself standing in aisle four and you couldn't even remember why you're in aisle four, you're not alone. You'll find that Jenny also struggled with that and so did Karen. They're all the same. They will all find that they are in exactly the same boat, because this is all part of being a female in shift work.

Speaker 1: 20:39

All right, and don't forget and something that's really important celebrate your wins, no matter how small it is, and support each other. Grab each other, go for a walk, get that 15, 20 minutes, half an hour. Go for an hour long walk, book it in, do it, commit to it, because then you're committing to each other and you're supporting each other as well. Really, really important. And the last point that I want to make and I'm going to make this as a male, as a husband and as a partner as well it's important that you prioritize self-care for yourself, and you must know it is absolutely okay for you to do this Now. I'm 60 years old. Now I don't fully understand the female playbook, but I do know one thing for sure, and this is something that I've learned and a lot of younger men absolutely need to learn Let your woman go and do herself for a period of time, and she will come back to you so much better. Let her do some of her.

Speaker 1: 21:39

Stop pulling them in all different directions, because it is not helping. You need to support them in what they need to do in their own self-care routine. It is not selfish. It is actually essential for maintaining your own energy and your own physical and mental well-being. So take time for activities that recharge you, whether it's reading, whether it's going to yoga or whether it's just simply curling up in the corner with a book for half an hour. That's all you need to do. It's not selfish and you shouldn't feel guilty. You work hard, you do home hard, you've got to play partner hard. You've got to do the whole lot. It's okay for you to take some time to yourself and understand this.

Speaker 1: 22:26

Looking after yourself allows you to be your absolute best for those who are depending on you. They do not deserve your crumbs, and you need to make sure that you are actually looking after yourself so that you are the best version of you, turning up for them as well, and we, as males, appreciate that too. So my closing thoughts in relation to this all you women that are shift working are absolutely incredible those in frontline health care and emergency services. Today is actually your day. You are strong, you are resilient and you are absolutely making a difference in ways in difference in ways that you may not even realize. But you need to stop and reflect, because shift work is really tough, and I see the challenges that you face, but with the right strategies, self-care and support, you can absolutely thrive. Now I want you.

Speaker 1: 23:30

I'm just going to put this plug in here right now, because I am working on a course at the moment that is going to be life-changing for all of you shift workers and also, in particular, you shift working females. I've coached hundreds of female shift workers and I've learned an awful lot out of coaching them as to what their needs and wants are and how to get them to absolutely thrive in their environments. And that's how I can do this podcast on the topics that I've spoken on, because I'm combining what I've learned from them and the strategies that we've put in place around them. I would highly recommend that you go to the show notes in this podcast, and at the bottom of the show notes you'll see a link to get onto my VIP list in relation to the upcoming course that we have coming out, which is going to teach you to absolutely crush your shift working life around nights. That's right. It's going to be how to optimize your life around nights, because I have worked out a strategy that I've combined 40 years of my own shift work experience with what I've learned around the research, combining it with what I've learned around coaching shift workers, to now coming up with a strategy which is incredible, and it has been highly endorsed by a number of people that I've actually put through it to work it really well endorsed by a number of people that I've actually put through it to work it really well. The only way you're going to find out about this and get access to the pre-release, the pre-release pricing and all of the ridiculous amounts of bonuses that we're actually throwing into it, is to be on the VIP list. If you're not on the VIP list, you're not going to have access to learn about it. So come along on the journey with us, get on the list, we'll keep you informed and get first access to it.

Speaker 1: 25:23

All right, everyone, thank you so much for everything that you do. Ladies, you are amazing. Keep looking after yourselves. Understand that there is a difference between how you're doing shift work and how your male colleagues are doing shift work, so that you can actually continue to do what you do best, and that is helping others. That's it for today's episode. If you found this episode valuable, can you do me a favor? Let me know and share it with a female colleague it's Women's Day or a friend who might need to hear it. And, as always, stay safe, stay healthy and I'll catch you in the next episode of A Healthy Shift podcast. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe 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. Thank you.