Speaker 1: 1:12

This one's for the ladies. If you're a shift worker and struggling with irregular periods, painful cycles, mood swings or unexplained fatigue, you are not alone. But did you know that your body's internal clock, your circadian rhythm, directly impacts your menstrual health? And when shift work throws that clock out of sync, it can literally wreak havoc on your hormones, your energy levels and your overall well-being. But here's the good news you can actually take control. You don't have to put up with it. In this episode, I'm going to break down exactly how shift work affects your cycle, why your body responds the way it does and, most importantly, the practical strategies that you can use to support your health while you are working shifts. This is a must listen for every menstruating shift worker. So let's get into it. Shift work can be brutal, but it doesn't have to be. 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 well-being so they have more energy to do the things they love. Enjoy today's show and hello and welcome to another episode of a Healthy Shift podcast. I'm your host, roger Sutherland, your dedicated shift work health and wellbeing coach. Now, today, I want to shine the spotlight on a topic that's crucial for so many of our listeners and, in fact, 82% of my social media following are females between the age of 25 and 45 years of age. So let's learn how to understand how circadian rhythms impact the menstrual cycle, especially for those working shifts, and we'll also explore strategies to support women's health in the demanding world of shift work. Now, I've covered this topic a number of times, but this one here is more in relation to what it is that actually happens, in relation to the impact that a disrupted circadian rhythm has on the menstrual cycle, not just the impact of shift work, all right. So let's get into this one. So let's start with the absolute basics, and I've covered this a million times, but let's go over it just quickly again in this podcast as well.

Speaker 1: 3:57

What is a circadian rhythm? Well, simply put, it's our body's internal clock and it operates on a roughly 24-hour cycle Circadian, circadian around and about a day. This rhythm regulates various physiological processes, mainly our sleep-wake cycles, but also our hormone releases and our metabolism. Now, it's primarily influenced by external cues like light and darkness, movement, meal timing, but when we expose ourselves to natural light during the day and embrace this darkness at night, what we actually do is to support our circadian rhythm, and this, in turn, promotes overall health and well-being. However, shift workers, this natural cycle often gets disrupted, doesn't it? Irregular workouts can lead to misalignment between our internal clocks and our external environment, which results in circadian rhythm disruptions. Now, this is actually called social jet lag, because it means that what the body is experiencing compared to what the eye is seeing is out of line, and this misalignment can have a profound effect on various bodily functions, which includes the female menstrual cycle. So how does this disruption impact the menstrual cycle?

Speaker 1: 5:25

Well, research indicates that women engaged in shift work are at a much higher risk of experiencing menstrual irregularities. Of experiencing menstrual irregularities. Put your hands up. Who, as females, really suffers with an irregular cycle? Or it's not regular on days, or it's quite heavy, or it can be light, or it seems so inconsistent as a shift worker. There is a reason, and a study published in the Journal of Women's Health found that rotating shift work was modestly associated with menstrual function, with possible implications for fertility and other cycle-related aspects of women's health. Now, specifically, women with an extensive rotating shift work were more likely to have irregular cycles and variations in cycle length. Now another study also highlighted that shift workers have significantly higher odds of menstrual disorders, dysmenorrhea, which is painful periods, and even early menopause. Now, the underlying reasons for these disruptions lies in how circadian misalignment affects our hormone regulation. Our reproductive hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, follow a circadian pattern, so when our internal clocks are out of sync due to the shift work, this can actually lead to hormonal imbalances which affect the regularity and the health of the menstrual cycle. So understanding these challenges is the first step. So let's now discuss strategies to support that menstrual health while navigating shift work.

Speaker 1: 7:08

It's one thing to just sit there and go oh well, it's part of shift work. That is a misconception, because you can actually function a lot better. And let's go through seven steps that you can go through and just put simple things in place to help you with this, and I will give you a heads up on every single one of these. They're all free, it's no supplement. You don't have to spend any money anywhere. All you got to do is put them in place. So let's just go through it. Grab your pen, grab your paper. We're at six minutes and 30 seconds, all right, come back to this with your pen and paper and write them down.

Speaker 1: 7:48

The first thing that you've got to do is you've got to prioritize your sleep hygiene. You need to aim for a minimum of seven hours of quality sleep Now, to do this, you've got to create a dark sleep. Now to do this, you've got to create a dark, a quiet and a cool environment that promotes restful, restorative sleep. So what we can do is we can use blackout curtains and we can use white noise machines or minimise noise can be so enormously beneficial. If you haven't got blackout curtains.

Speaker 1: 8:20

A sleep mask is an absolute must. Don't underestimate the impact that any light touching your skin, eyes, the eyelids can actually have on you. Just because your room is kind of dark is not enough. It needs to be pitch black. So that sleep mask is definitely the best way to go. And if you visit my website, healthyshiftcom, and go to the menu item up the top and it says recommended products, and go into the recommended products, you will see that I could not more highly recommend the Manta Sleep Mask as the mask for you to actually purchase. Is it expensive? It's not cheap, but it is so incredibly beneficial and the feedback that I get from clients and people that have purchased this mask are seconds and nothing. It is not a waste of money. It is so highly beneficial for those naps and those sleeps at night. So the sleep mask blackout. We want that Now.

Speaker 1: 9:24

The next thing that we've got to do is we've got to get a consistent sleep schedule right now Before you at me. I want you to keep this in mind. We can still consistently go to bed and get up at roughly the same time within hours. Not all the time, but what we do have to do is we have to do it as much in line with our normal diurnal being as we possibly can while we are, while we can control the controllable I talk about this all the time with clients control what you can control. There are times when you can't. There'll be times when you're supposed to finish at 11 and you don't finish until three. That isn't uncontrollable, so be it. But what you can do is on those days off, you can actually get into bed and get up at a reasonable time to make sure that you're staying in line with your normal human diurnal circadian rhythm and, as much as possible, maintaining this regular sleep and wake up time. Maintaining this regular sleep and wake up time and particularly on those days off, because this consistency helps to regulate your internal clock, with those time cues of movement, meal timing and light Super important.

Speaker 1: 10:37

Now the next thing that we have to be very aware of and I'm going to be banging on about this for the next five years until it bangs in hard into people we have to be mindful of our light exposure. Now, one of the most important things and something that I do and something that I learned very early on in my studies now is to expose yourself to natural light during your waking hours. We need to get as much daylight. Now I'm not talking turn the lights on, sit inside, scroll Netflix, scroll your phone under a lounge room light. I'm talking about getting out in daylight and getting the luxe light that is required for your body outside in the daytime. Getting up and getting out early really does set us up extremely well for the rest of our day and helps to manage our fatigue. Now you might think, oh no, I've got to catch up on sleep. You can't catch up on it. You need to understand that. What you need to do is you need to get up and get out in that light and give the natural daylight the opportunity to suppress those night hormones and get you going at night Super important Get you going during the day so that you sleep better and more restfully at night. Now what we do have to do also, once the sun's gone down, we have to limit this exposure to our screens and artificial light before bed. I can't emphasize this enough.

Speaker 1: 12:04

This melatonin that is secreted as a result of the signal of darkness is so incredibly important to us. Biologically, we think of melatonin as our sleep hormone. Melatonin is not a sleep hormone. Melatonin signals darkness to the rest of the body, which is the precursor to sleep. Obviously, because it puts the body into a rest and digest. But what we do have to understand very, very important is the impact that melatonin has as a free radical eradicator, which is our cancer cells in our body. We need to make sure that we're not confusing the signal.

Speaker 1: 12:42

Now you can take melatonin or you can have melatonin come. As soon as you put that light to your face, you've sent a mixed signal. You're sending blue light into your eye which is telling the pineal gland suppress melatonin. It's not time to sleep, and that is dangerous. You might go to sleep because you're tired, but there's no melatonin there, which is what we really. So, ladies, gents, everybody, you're going to need to learn to suppress this light at night, because if you're wanting to know why there's a cancer pandemic and people are just the least expected breast cancer, prostate cancer, cancers in women it's because of this light exposure at night, and we do have to do more about it. Blue light blocking glasses a quality blue light blocking glass is something that will really help you with this, really help you. And once again, you can go to ahealthyshiftcom and up the top. There I've got resources, recommended products, and you'll see that I have the Swanwick blue light blocking glasses there, which are research backed, and an exceptionally good blue light blocking glass to just put on at night If you need to be looking at your phone. You can use the glasses and you will get very, very used to it. So there we go Now.

Speaker 1: 13:56

The next one that I wanted to talk about is balanced nutrition. Now, regular and nutritious meals can help to stabilize our energy levels and will definitely support our hormonal balance. So what we need to do as females is we need to incorporate foods which are rich in iron and magnesium, particularly in the luteal phase of the cycle. So, from the midpoint of the cycle up to menstruation, high iron and magnesium can literally really help with menstrual health and also help to relax your system and reduce that PMS that you can suffer from. So making sure that you're eating at breakfast, lunch and dinner time, no matter what shift you're on, sticking to those regular eating times helps to regulate the hormonal releases as well, makes such a difference to us.

Speaker 1: 14:48

The next thing, point number five, is stress management. Now I know you're going to tell me, oh, but I'm not stressed. But the problem is what are you accepting as your new normal? Do you really think that you are relaxed or are you actually relaxed? Because I know so many people that said to me oh, no, I'm not stressed, and I listen to them and I can see just how stressed they actually are. What actually happens to us individually is we start to learn that this is our new normal and then we don't think we're stressed anymore, and then we escalate to another stress and then that becomes our new normal and all the time we are escalating up to this particular point where we are so stressed without even realizing, but we've accepted it as our new normal. Now we need to engage in relaxation techniques. We've got to learn to understand the importance of meditation. We've got to learn and use deep breathing or gentle yoga just to reduce stress in our body. These activities are all free Meditation, deep breathing and gentle yoga, free exercises just simple stretching at night can make such an enormous difference before you go to sleep. Stress can really adversely affect hormonal balance, but by incorporating meditation, deep breathing and gentle yoga, it reduces stress and it actually supports hormonal balance in our body. So if we're suffering from hormonal imbalances, this is one of the areas that we really really need to be having a look at stress management.

Speaker 1: 16:28

Point six you knew I was going to go there, but regular physical activity is just so important. Now I'm not talking about getting to an F45 and smashing yourself senseless. What I'm talking about is just getting regular physical activity, and one of the best exercises that I can see for a shift worker moving forward is to get up, get out, get that early light and take a walk. It is literally quite simple. But by getting up and getting out, getting that light and that movement and eating at the right times, it helps to regulate those hormones and it also helps to reduce that menstrual discomfort for you as well. And just be mindful of the timing and avoid vigorous workouts late in the day, close to bedtime, because that's stimulating your central nervous system. It's not relaxing it. Exercise is for the morning. All right, we try and exercise as a shift worker. We try and exercise in the morning. No, not on the way home from night shift, but we try and exercise in the morning on those days where we can.

Speaker 1: 17:32

And the next thing, one of the biggest issues, the biggest problems that we have as we get later in life, and also for you women who are also later in life that are getting close to perimenopause as well, we need to limit the stimulants and the alcohol. We've got to reduce that intake of caffeine and alcohol, particularly and especially before bedtime, because this will actually disrupt your sleep patterns and it does exacerbate hormonal imbalances in your body. Alcohol is the devil when it comes to what you're doing later on. I know we all think, oh, it relaxes me and I don't want to be that ex-smoker that's telling you that cigarettes are bad because I've given up alcohol. But I cannot begin to tell you how much better I feel having given up alcohol. What is now 16 months ago, and how much better I actually feel for it. 1st of January 2024, I've stopped drinking and I just feel so much better for it and it helps to make such a difference to my life. Okay, that's the strategies. That's what will help you.

Speaker 1: 18:39

And, yes, shift work has an enormous impact on the female infradian rhythm, on the menstrual cycle, and we need to put those simple, free things in place and you will notice. Every single thing I mentioned there is free, so stop scrolling looking for the medications and drugs and everything else. It's free. All you got to do is manage that stress, get that movement, make sure you're getting good sleep, be very mindful of when you're getting what light and balancing your nutrition out, managing stress and limiting alcohol and other stimulants like caffeine. It makes such a big difference to you and it really will, because implementing these strategies it may be challenging to start off with, but implementing them slowly will make such a difference, especially with the unpredictable nature of your shift work. However, when you make small and consistent changes, this can lead to significant improvements in your menstrual health and also in your own overall well-being. You don't have to put up with that pain and discomfort every month. It means that generally, that there's something wrong, and if you start to get yourself in line and start looking after your women's health or your health, things will start to improve.

Speaker 1: 19:56

But remember also that every individual's experience is entirely unique, and this, obviously, is coming from a male who will never know what it's actually like. I'm well-read in the area and I try and understand it as much as I can, and I've literally coached hundreds and hundreds of female shift workers around all of this. But I will tell you it's essential to listen to your body and, if there's any issues, consult with a healthcare professional for personalized advice relevant to you. Okay, so thank you for joining me on this episode. I really do hope you got something out of this.

Speaker 1: 20:33

If you found this information helpful, please, if you would do me a favor, share it with fellow shift workers who could benefit from it, share it into your newsletter, share it into your groups. Don't forget hit follow and turn on your notifications for more insights and strategies tailored for shift work, health and wellbeing. And until next time. I want you to stay healthy and take care. 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.