Welcome to A Healthy Shift | The Shift Work Podcast, the podcast helping shift workers thrive while changing how organisations think about people working in 24/7 environments.
Hosted by Roger Sutherland, Australia's Night Shift & Sleep Specialist, this is where evidence meets lived experience.
After more than 40 years of working rotating shifts with Victoria Police, followed by years studying nutrition, circadian biology, chrononutrition, sleep, human performance and women's health, Roger is on a mission to challenge the belief that fatigue, poor sleep, burnout and declining health are simply part of working shifts.
Because they don't have to be.
Whether you're a nurse, paramedic, police officer, firefighter, doctor, aged care worker, manufacturing employee, FIFO worker, miner, pilot, flight attendant, truck driver, dispatcher, or anyone working outside the traditional 9-to-5, this podcast will give you practical, evidence-based strategies to help you sleep better, improve your energy, optimise your health and perform at your best.
If you're a leader, manager, People & Culture professional, WHS specialist, or responsible for leading a 24/7 workforce, you'll discover a different way of thinking about shift work—one that focuses on building shift work capability from within through education, leadership and practical systems that create healthier people, stronger teams and higher-performing organisations.
Each episode explores topics including:
• Shift work • Night shift • Sleep after night shift • Circadian rhythm • Fatigue management • Shift worker health • Nutrition for shift workers • Chrononutrition • Recovery and resilience • Women's health and shift work • Leadership in 24/7 organisations • Human performance • Workplace wellbeing • Fatigue risk management • Building healthier, safer and higher-performing workplaces
This isn't another podcast offering generic health tips.
It's a podcast about changing the future of shift work.
Because healthier people create stronger teams.
Stronger teams build better organisations.
And it all starts by understanding how to work with biology, not against it.
Digestive issues are a common struggle for shift workers, yet many don't fully understand why their stomachs seem to rebel during night shifts. From bloating and nausea to acid reflux and constipation, these symptoms are more than just annoying—they’re your body’s biological response to working against its natural rhythms.
In this episode of A Healthy Shift, you'll learn:
Why your digestive system struggles during night shifts: Understand how your body’s circadian rhythm impacts digestion and why your gut operates on a daytime schedule.
The science behind bloating and discomfort: Discover why food moves slower through your digestive tract at night and the role of stress in exacerbating digestive issues.
Why women face more digestive challenges: Learn how hormonal fluctuations and longer digestive transit times affect women, leading to more intense digestive symptoms.
Practical strategies to ease digestive discomfort: We cover meal timing, hydration tips, and the benefits of probiotics for better digestion.
How to support your gut health while working nights: Simple, evidence-based steps like staying hydrated, eating light meals, and prioritizing quality sleep between shifts can make a huge difference.
If this episode helped you understand your digestive health during night shifts, we’d love to hear from you! Leave a review and share your feedback—it helps us reach more shift workers who need this information.
Roger Sutherland is Australia's Night Shift & Sleep Specialist and the founder of A Healthy Shift.
After more than 40 years working rotating shifts with Victoria Police, Roger now helps organisations reduce fatigue risk, improve staff wellbeing and build healthier, safer and higher-performing 24/7 workplaces through evidence-based education, circadian biology and the Shift Work Champions™ Framework.
Disclaimer: Roger Sutherland is not a doctor or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before implementing any strategies mentioned in this podcast. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Roger Sutherland will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of the information contained in this podcast, including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness, or death.
So we're starting to feel really good , and then we go into a night shift and before we know it , we're suddenly suffering from gas bloating , all sorts of digestive pain , and you ladies will know only too well that this affects you more than anyone else . In today's episode , I want to talk about why my stomach feels so off during and after those night shifts , so that we can learn to understand and combat those digestive struggles . 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 rigors 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 .
Speaker 1
Enjoy today's show and welcome back to a Healthy Shift podcast . I'm your host , roger Sutherland . I'm a veteran shift worker of in excess of 40 years and a health and wellbeing coach dedicated to helping you thrive and not just survive , in your shift working life . Now , today , have you ever woken up after that night shift or during night shift and you felt bloated , nauseous , or you're just absolutely off in the gut , and maybe you're struggling with acid reflux . Tell me you haven't come out of night shift suffering from constipation or even just an upset stomach that lingers for hours after you finish work . Well , I'm here to tell you you're not alone , because digestive issues are one of the most common struggles among our shift working community , and in today's episode , I'm going to shine the spotlight on why your stomach feels out of whack during and after those night shifts and , more importantly , what on earth is there that we can do about it ?
Speaker 1
So let's get into it . First of all , why do night shifts wreck our digestion
? And to understand why shift work messes with your gut , it would be remiss of me not to talk about the circadian rhythm , which is your body's internal clock . Your digestive system is designed to be most active during the day and to slow right down at night , when you should be sleeping , but when you flip your schedule upside down and you start eating at night , your gut is like wait , hang on . What on earth is going on here ?
Speaker 1
And here are some of the biggest reasons why our shift workers struggle with digestion . Number one is that circadian rhythm disruption . Your gut produces digestive enzymes and a stomach acid on a daytime schedule . Eating large meals at night , when digestion is sluggish , can lead to all kinds of bloating , gas , discomfort and severe indigestion . You're forcing your gut to do something that it is not primed and ready to go . Keep in mind that all of our organs , every cell in our body also runs to the rhythm and the beat of this circadian rhythm . So keep that in mind . If you're eating outside of our normal biological day , which is from around 6am in the morning to 9pm at night , then you can expect to have problems with your gut .
Speaker 1
We also know that we have slowed gastric emptying at night . Food literally moves slower through our digestive system , which can cause bloating and constipation . And what's the one thing that we don't do enough of overnight ? Drink water . So therefore it does not help all of that food to transit through our system really well , and our stomach and digestive tract actually runs a lot slower . Remember it's not supposed to be running at all . Ever suffered from increased acid reflux ? Lying down too soon after eating a night shift meal can also cause heartburn or reflux . Because this digestion takes longer , it's working harder to try and push it further down through your system , so there's a good chance that you could end up with acid reflux as a result of that .
Speaker 1
The other thing that causes one of the biggest issues and I want you to keep this one foremost in your mind and that is stress and the . Even if you don't feel stressed yourself , your body is stressed because it's completely out of sync with its normal hormonal rhythms . Everything's operating at an opposite and stress impacts on your gut Because when you're in a high stress state , your body diverts energy away from digestion , and this actually makes things even worse . So what we've got to do is we have to manage our stress . We have to manage our body stress , which is literally disrupted circadian rhythm , and we also have to manage our everyday life stress as well . And we do those with those simple , happy clapper strategies that I talk about all the time . They work and they're free .
Speaker 1
And number five , which is one of the most significant as well , is we make poor food choices at the worst possible time and , let's be honest , night shifts make it so goddamn tempting to reach for the convenience foods that are processed , they're high in sugar or they're greasy , and damn , jenny , and that frigging cake , sugars , carbohydrates we're getting a lot of those in and highly palatable fats . Let's face it , the last thing that we really crave when we're on night shift is a delicious sandwich . No , we don't . We're always looking for chocolate chips , lollies and goddamn Jenny and her cake , and all of these trigger gut issues in themselves . Now I want to get into another serious issue here as well , and this is something that is quite often
overlooked . If you follow me for any period of time , you'll know what I'm about to speak about , and that is women suffer even more than men when it comes to digestive discomfort on night shift . So why do women experience more digestive struggles than men ? Let's go through it Hormonal fluctuations Women's digestion is closely linked to their menstrual cycle .
Speaker 1
Estrogen and progesterone impact on gut motility , which often causes bloating , constipation or diarrhea at different times of the month . Ladies , think about it how you would go through bloating and constipation , diarrhea , constipation . Compared to different times of the month , it can make quite a significant difference , and that is all linked to those hormonal imbalances . Disrupted circadian rhythm interrupts a infradian rhythm , which is your 28-day cycle . Gut and reproductive organ proximity . Have a think about it , guys , your sexual organs on the outside . Females , your sexual organs are internal .
Speaker 1
The female digestive tract is positioned closer to the uterus and the ovaries , meaning that any bloating and gut discomfort can also be compounded , especially in that luteal phase of the female cycle . You've got a highly agitated digestive tract which is causing issues against a highly agitated female reproductive system , which is also highly agitated , which is a recipe for disaster . There's another reason slower digestion . It's really important to know and learn that women naturally have a longer digestive transit time than men , and this means that food takes longer to move through their system . In fact , that is up to 14 hours longer for females than it actually is for men . And on night shift , when digestion is already sluggish , this can lead to even more bloating , more gas and a lot more discomfort . And the other consideration that we really have to think about as well is females are more sensitive to stress and the gut and the brain are directly connected via this vagus nerve , and women tend to have a more reactive gut-brain connection , meaning stress from shift work can lead to IBS-like symptoms more often than it will in men , than it will in men .
Speaker 1
So there , if you're a female shift worker and you are constantly dealing with bloating , nausea or stomach cramps on night shift or coming out of it . No , you're not imagining it and it's not actually just a normal part of being a woman . It's your body working against you in so many ways . But if you are aware of it , then what we can do is we can actually support your gut health , which I'm about to get into right now
. So let's get into strategies to keep your gut happy on night shift . So what can you do to stop your gut from waging war on you during and after night shifts ? And here are some science-backed strategies for you to pay particular attention of .
Speaker 1
We need to eat light , balanced meals during those night shifts . We need to focus on easily digestible foods , protein and fiber and healthy fats . Some examples of this can be things like Greek yogurt with berries and nuts , chicken with roasted veggies or a protein shake with a banana . These things are all easy on the gut and help things to slide through and you don't end up with all of those sugars from the carbohydrates . We need to avoid high-fat , greasy or super-processed foods that are really quite difficult to digest . Think about that . Don't go zipping on through those golden arches or getting those pizzas or donuts or things like that , because you will pay the price for it . It's really simple .
Speaker 1
Now we need to time our meals wisely as well . We need to eat a proper meal before your shift starts and we need to eat something that keeps you fuller for longer . So we have a light , high-protein snack mid shift if we need to , and we avoid eating within two hours before bed , because this reduces the reflux and it helps your gut to rest . Now , this depends on what time you're going to sleep , because I highly recommend that you fast overnight , during that time that your natural circadian rhythm has actually got you in a rest and digest mode between 9 pm and 6 am in the morning and then you just have a light carbohydrate and protein meal to keep you sustained overnight or while you're sleeping during the day . This will help you to sleep and it will stop you from waking up because you're so hungry . But nothing too significant , because if you do that , you're going to have massive problems and it will impact on your sleep .
Speaker 1
Number three is to stay hydrated . Water , sparkling water that's all you need . We've got to be very careful of this . Caffeine Caffeine is also an agitator to our gut , and we sit there sipping caffeine on night shift and we end up with this poor gut problem . Yep , caffeine , keep in mind . While we're awake and we're in the morning , no problems , everything's functioning properly . But when we're there overnight , it's actually going to cause us more problems . Dehydration actually slows down our digestion , so don't chug water , just sip it . Sip water throughout your shift and this is one way to keep that motility going through .
Speaker 1
If you drink coffee , we need to cut the coffee , the caffeine , at , wait for it midnight . Don't drink caffeine after midnight at all . Not only do you not need it , but by not having it you'll sleep better and you'll need it less . We need to make sure that we understand that caffeine is disrupting our sleep . Sure , you can go home , put your head on the pillow and go to sleep Caffeine doesn't affect me at all but you're not getting that deep , restorative sleep and when you've got to get up and pee , you don't go back to sleep again . Keep that in mind .
Speaker 1
The other thing that's really handy to learn and know after night shift is to move after you've eaten . So even just a quick five to 10 minute walk . This will actually help your digestion and if you're at work , even just standing up and stretching or moving around can actually give gravity an opportunity to do its thing . Now the other thing let's support our gut health . Do it all the time , not just every now and again .
Speaker 1
I love to include probiotics into my diet . I always , every day , have Greek yogurt . I also love to include sauerkraut on the side of meals that I'm having as well , because what happens is this puts life culture into your gut and helps with digestion . To support that , we need prebiotics as well , and these are fiber-rich foods veggies , oats , whole grains . These things keep things moving and also feed those probiotics in your gut as well . And a good thing to sip on overnight is ginger or peppermint tea , because this can help to ease nausea or bloating .
Speaker 1
Now , nothing beats that sleep , all right . So we need to prioritize that sleep in between and after nights , all right . So we've got to make sure that we're getting that sleep , because poor sleep in particular will affect your gut health more than anything else . So aim for a dark , a cool room , use earplugs and a white noise machine to actually shut everything out and make sure that you're actually getting good sleep , because a regular sleep routine helps to regulate your digestion long-term as well . Remember , routine , routine , routine as a shift worker , all right . So what are my final thoughts and some of the takeaways , because night shifts just don't have to mean constant gut discomfort as a shift worker . All right , so what are my final thoughts ? And some of the takeaways ? Because night shifts just don't have to mean constant gut discomfort , and by understanding why your stomach feels so off and making small changes to what and when you eat can make you feel so much better .
Speaker 1
My clients that I work with , my clients literally don't suffer from these issues as well , and I'm also about to release a course in relation to shift work and night shift , and this course is going to be the way to dominate and smash night shift , to get into , to get through and to come out of night shift . So I would highly recommend and I mean highly recommend that you go
into the show notes and you will see a link there to get onto the VIP list , to learn and get notified before the course launches , before the pricing goes up , and to get all of the extras that we're going to be included to the people that are actually on that list prior to the course launch . This is the way that you're going to dominate . It's going to have a section on females in it . It's going to have a section on how to go into , go through , come out of night shift . What's the best way to eat ? We all know that night shift is the dreaded shift . It's the shift that we suffer the most biologically , and I've built a solution for you that is definitely going to help you . So go into the show notes , scroll down to the bottom and you'll see a link to get onto the VIP list . Do that and do it now . All right .
Speaker 1
So let's recap . First of all , we've got to stick to light , balanced meals instead of those heavy and greasy foods . Make sure that you time your meals . Avoid those big meals late or on night shift . Try not to eat between 9 pm and 6 am and particularly don't eat highly palatable carbohydrates and fats . That will cause problems . Stay hydration with water or herbal teas and don't overdo the caffeine Caffeine's got to be cut at midnight . And just move a little for 5 , 10 minutes after you've eaten . Just do a few loops around the table , do whatever you've got to do , but just move and your gut will thank you for it . And most importantly , last but not least in fact it should be number one is to prioritize sleep , because it literally directly affects digestion .
Speaker 1
Now , I hope this episode gives you the tools to take control of your gut health on night shift , because it is really , really important . If you found the episode helpful , please share it with a fellow shift worker who needs to hear it . If you've got a fellow female colleague who you know suffers on night shift , send them this episode . Let's educate the shift workers and get evidence-based strategies out there . And if you've got any other topics that you'd love me to cover , send me a message . I'd love to hear from you . Until next time , take care of yourself and stay healthy on shift . 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 .
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