Speaker 1: 1:12

I'm seeing a lot of influencers on the internet at the moment talking about certain research around the fact that blue light doesn't inhibit sleep, and that is not incorrect. It's actually fairly accurate and fairly true that blue light may not actually inhibit sleep, and in you shift workers, it's one thing that's really, really important to understand that when you go to home and you do get to bed, you are exhausted, so you do go to sleep, and so, therefore, we look at the research, and the research tells us that blue light, or blue rich light, is only inhibiting sleep by approximately seven minutes, which is not statistically significant. So it is right, but let me be one to warn you right now Blue rich light is causing you massive problems when it comes to your circadian rhythm and the impacts on your quality of sleep, but the hidden guest in relation to all of this is the impact that it has on our cancer risk. In today's episode, I want to discuss this because it is a ridiculously important conversation that we need to have. So what is the impact of light at night on our cancer risk? This is what you, the shift worker, needs to know. To risk. This is what you, the shift worker, needs to know. Shift work can be brutal, but it doesn't have to be.

Speaker 1: 2:48

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. Things they love. Enjoy today's show.

Speaker 1: 3:23

Welcome to a Healthy Shift podcast. Let me introduce myself. I'm your host, roger Sutherland. Now today, I'm going to be shining a hell of a lot of blue rich light onto a really important topic that affects all of us shift workers, and that is the impact to light exposure at night on our risk of cancer. Right Now, let's just put one thing on the table really, really, really clearly. As I said in the opening, blue rich light may not impact sleep as much as what we understand, right or what we thought on the latency of sleep, which is the time it takes for us to go to sleep, and a lot of us are reaching for our phones and lying in bed and looking at our phones, and we're looking at them at night after it gets dark, and we're watching TV and looking at computer screens and we've got the lights on in the house and we think it doesn't make any difference because when I go to bed I go straight to sleep. Listen up, and listen up really really carefully to today, because while they are talking about the impact that it may or may not have on sleep, there's another big player here that we really really do need to bring into the room and have a serious discussion about, and this is indisputable. All right. So I want to be quite clear on this. A recent study and I will link to the study in the show notes has looked into whether light at night disrupts our natural cancer protection by lowering melatonin levels. Now let me break this study down for you and I will give you a simple and practical strategies to minimize this risk, and you must pay attention to this.

Speaker 1: 5:01

It is super important that you understand, first of all, what is melatonin and why does melatonin matter so much? Melatonin is not a supplement that we take that helps us to go to sleep, all right. Melatonin is naturally produced by the pineal gland and it is a super important hormone in our body, not just to signal darkness to the body, but get this because melatonin is a hormone produced by the brain, specifically in the pineal gland, that regulates sleep and plays a crucial role in protecting us against cancer. Now, it is only produced when it is dark. Melatonin is not produced when it's light all right and its levels typically peak in the middle of the night, when we are actually in the deep sleep. Now, melatonin, apart from signaling to the body that it is dark, has very, very strong antioxidant properties, which means that it helps to neutralize harmful free radicals in our system that can damage cells and will contribute to cancer development.

Speaker 1: 6:16

Now, studies suggest that when melatonin levels are disrupted due to light exposure at night, the body's ability to actually fight cancer cells is compromised and this increases the risk of developing cancer. Scary right. So how does light at night increase a cancer risk? Well, when you're exposed to artificial light at night, which we are now, obviously, and while we're working night shift, we're getting light from everywhere. But when we look at sources like hospital lighting, street lighting, looking at those mobile phones, looking at the TV, looking at screens everywhere, your body gets tricked into thinking it's still daytime. Now, this suppresses melatonin production, which leads to a reduction in its protective effects against cancer cells in our body.

Speaker 1: 7:10

Now research has shown that shift workers, who frequently experience light exposure at night, have a high incidence of cancer, especially hormone-related cancers a la breast cancer Huge amounts of breast cancer in shift workers Everybody will know someone that's had or has dealt with breast cancer and also, in males, prostate cancer. There is also emerging evidence that suggests that there's a connection between light exposure at night and an increased risk of colorectal cancer, which is likely, again, due to the melatonin's role of regulating cell growth and immune function. It's really important that we understand this function. It's really important that we understand this. We always think oh, why is cancer becoming so prevalent? Oh, it's processed foods. You can't eat anything out of a packet. No one considers the fact that it's staring at blue lights from our phones while we're lying in bed at night. This is disrupting everything and this is why this podcast is so important and I really want you.

Speaker 1: 8:18

So what are the key findings from this study? And the study found that shift workers, especially those that have worked rotating night shifts for 15 or more years, are at a significantly higher risk of developing certain cancers. Light exposure in the same way, tend to have lower cancer rates, reinforcing the idea that melatonin suppression plays a key role in this cancer risk. The study also suggests that it's not just breast cancer that is a concern. It's the other types of cancer, including colorectal cancer, as I mentioned, and cancers of our lymphatic system may also be linked to these disrupted melatonin levels, and in large cohort studies, women who were rotating night shifts for 30 plus years were found to have a 36% increased risk of breast cancer compared to those who never worked night shifts.

Speaker 1: 9:18

So what is there that we can actually do to reduce this risk? First of all, even when you go home and you're sleeping in your room at night, it needs to be pitch black, with no light, not the moonlight coming in from the window. It needs to be pitch black, not those LEDs from your phone charging or looking at your screen or all of those things. They need to be neutralized. We need to use blackout curtains or an eye mask which creates complete darkness in your bedroom or in through the eye, as even a small amount of light can literally suppress melatonin. So now think about what you're doing with your phone six inches from your eyes. Think about that. Avoid exposure to bright light after dark, but at the very least for two hours before bed. We need to switch to a dim blue, zero blue lighting in your home and we need to zero blue lighting in your home and we need to those night modes on your phones. They don't work, trust me, they don't work. There is still blue light coming from those that your eye registers. So while they say, oh, use night mode, all it does is reduces eye strain. It does not eliminate blue light coming out of your phone.

Speaker 1: 10:40

You've got to consider using a sleep mask and if you can't control your light exposure in your bedroom, even a small amount of light from your digital clock or your charging cables can literally impact your sleep quality. Think about that as well. Have a look at your room. Any light, no. Try and get used to the sleep mask and, honestly, if you go to my website, ahealthyshiftcom, and you have a look at the tab up the top, which has got resources, you'll see that Recommender Products is on there and I recommend the Manta Sleep Mask. I would go through and have a look at the Manta Sleep Mask for this, because it is an excellent quality sleep mask, not cheap, but it is absolutely worth every dollar, particularly when you look at what we're doing or what we are learning around light and its cancer risk. So really make sure that that sleep mask that eye, that room is darkness and the eye does not register any light at all. If possible.

Speaker 1: 11:42

We've got to work at scheduling our sleep at the same time every day to maintain a stable circadian rhythm, because consistency in sleep timing helps our body to regulate that melatonin production. It sets it into a cycle. Now, I understand when you're on night shift that's not possible. But how many times do you come home from work after an afternoon shift and you sit there watching TV until one or two o'clock in the morning? Come on, use your brain. You're actually causing yourself more problems by doing that. Learn to wind down before you get home or have a mindful practice in place to shut down that committee meeting in your head. It's really, really important.

Speaker 1: 12:26

So how do we get this strategic light exposure? Because it's really important that we get bright light exposure during our day. So whenever you're awake, because this helps us to reset our body clock, and this can be achieved by being outside in natural light. Now, whether it's sunlight or just an overcast day, just get that natural daylight. Or what you can do as well is, if you go to that recommended products page, is I have the retimer glasses on there as well which directs the correct light into the eye that you can use while it's still dark in the morning, while you get up and move around, and I've discussed those as well. But you can go and have a look at them on the website. They're there and I talk about them in a video on that as well. They are highly recommended and very, very good and are again supported by science.

Speaker 1: 13:18

Light timing is important. We need to use dim, red or those amber colored lights at night instead of white, blue rich lights in our homes at night, those lights that you put in your roof. They are blue rich led lights. Yes, they save you on power, but are they actually saving you? They're actually killing you ever so slowly because they are disrupting that circadian rhythm. Red light has the least impact on our melatonin production. Keep that in mind. A lot of smart bulbs now have an option to switch to red lighting in the evening, but we've got to be able to check and see if there's any blue light in it. Don't think just because it's red, it hasn't got any blue. You can actually test to see if they've got blue light in them as well.

Speaker 1: 14:09

All right, if you work under artificial lighting at night, you've got to consider wearing blue light blocking glasses to maximize the impact on your melatonin levels. Minimize the impact, sorry, but maximize melatonin production. It's not just smart and it's not a badge of honor. By wearing the glasses, you're actually protecting that melatoninin which is protecting you from cancer, and if you were lying in bed riddled with cancer, you'd be wishing you'd worn the blue blocking glasses again. The ones that I've tested, the ones that I endorse, the ones that are supported by science, are actually on the website, my website a healthy shiftcom under recommended products, because these glasses are filtering out the wavelengths of light that suppress melatonin the most. Now you might think, oh, but the eye can still see light, so therefore it's still suppressing melatonin and that nothing could be further from the truth. And when you understand the science behind it, it is only the blue, that 480 nanometers of blue light, that's visible, that we can see. That is actually suppressing the melatonin. It's no other color, because the ganglion cells in our eye only register the blue. They don't see the other colors, and that's what informs the pineal gland about the melatonin release. Keep that in mind. So if you have to work under artificial light, blue light blocking glasses important.

Speaker 1: 15:39

The other thing that we look at as well is melatonin supplementation. Don't just go and buy melatonin off the shelf. The efficacy of melatonin off the shelf is appalling, and don't jump onto your other websites and just go and buy melatonin to combat this, because the efficacy is shown to be so poor that even between pills in one packet is an enormous difference in the quality of it. So you need to speak to your healthcare professional about taking a melatonin supplement, especially if you struggle with sleep around those nights. Melatonin supplements can also help to regulate sleep patterns and may also support the body's anti-cancer natural defense. Important and the optimal dosing and timing of melatonin supplementation can vary, so it's best to consult a doctor or a sleep specialist before you actually start. Don't just go and buy them and take it every day. Understand, because you're getting different doses all the time. Pharmaceutical grade melatonin is tested and you're going to be getting the right dose every time.

Speaker 1: 16:50

Now the other thing we need to look at is these lifestyle factors. We need to maintain a healthy diet which is rich in antioxidants, which includes foods such as our berries and our nuts and our leafy greens and fish, which can all help to counteract oxidative stress in our body, and that is what leads to cancer if we have this oxidative stress. We need to exercise regularly, because physical activity is known to not only support melatonin production and improve overall health, but it also releases cytokines into the body, which combats cancer cells, and we need to make sure that we're getting movement and getting exercise. So try to fit in workouts at a consistent time each day as well, because your body learns I'm exercising now. This is where we're at in time and space. Okay, I now know when to release melatonin, managing stress effectively through mindfulness, meditation or breath work really important.

Speaker 1: 17:48

Chronic stress can disrupt sleep and will also further reduce our melatonin levels, making it even harder for your body to repair itself. And I know you're going to hate me for this and I sound like a broken record, but you've got to limit the alcohol in your caffeine intake, particularly as a shift worker, and this is one of the main reasons why we end up with so much trouble. We use alcohol to sleep, but we don't sleep properly on it, and caffeine is impacting on our sleep as well. Severely, both of these alcohol and caffeine both interfere with melatonin production and they will impact on our overall sleep quality as well. So my final thoughts, and just to wrap this up, that shift work is incredibly challenging and while we can't always change our work schedules, we can absolutely take proactive steps to prioritize and protect our health. Just simple steps of prioritizing darkness during sleep and managing that light exposure strategically and to maintain a healthy lifestyle that can help to mitigate the risk associated with light exposure at night can make an enormous difference.

Speaker 1: 18:56

It's crucial for us to advocate to our workplaces for workplace policies that support shift workers' health, such as circadian lighting. You should be insisting on it, not just going oh well, this is what they do, they won't spend it. You've got to be putting. If you're in Australia, you're going to be putting work cover claims in around making sure that they put safe and healthy lighting, because the lighting that they've got in the place at the moment is not healthy. Circadian lighting is readily available worldwide now, and workplaces have to start looking at putting circadian friendly, which is zero blue lighting, into workplaces that are going to function overnight. It is imperative that this happens, so we need to start putting in near misses and making sure that they are actually taking action around it, because WorkSafe Australia will actually make sure that this is what happens. Once you yell loud enough, then it happens.

Speaker 1: 19:56

Now, if you found this episode helpful, can you do me a favor and share it with your fellow shift workers, because knowledge is power around this. It's not good enough to wear it as a badge of honor to be awake overnight and getting all this blue rich LED light or blue rich lighting into your system. It is impacting your melatonin production. It is linked to cancer. Today. It's not a may or it might do or it could. It is linked, there's no doubt about it, and together what we can do is we can create a healthier shift working community, because this is important.

Speaker 1: 20:29

And that's it for today's episode of a Healthy Shift podcast. I don't mean to scare you. I literally want to make you aware because it's really, really important. So be sure to hit subscribe and leave a review to help more shift workers discover this podcast. Leave a review no one's left a review for ages and follow me on ahealthyshiftcom for more tips on thriving as a shift worker. And until next time, take care, stay healthy, turn off the lights at night and prioritize your sleep. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe so you get notified whenever a new episode is released it. 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.