Speaker 1: 1:41

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 G'day, and welcome back to A Healthy Shift. My name Roger Sutherland, your host and long-time shift worker, who's all about helping you to thrive and not just survive in this 24-7 world that we live in Now.

Speaker 1: 2:33

Today's episode comes off the back of a number of questions that I get around supplements, but one in particular or there's two, actually, that I do get a lot of questions around, and one of them is a personal favorite of mine that I do take regularly. So let's get into it and ask the question should I take magnesium or ashwagandha to help with sleep and stress? Interesting one, isn't it? Because one's a herb and the other one is a mineral. So let's go through it. Honestly, it's really a great question because if you're a shift worker and you are battling broken sleep or stress from unpredictable rosters and that constant wired but tired feeling, then you're probably looking for anything, anything at all, that will help. So today we're diving into both, and I want to talk about ashwagandha and magnesium to see how they work and what they actually do in the body, and which one might help you personally the most, or whether combining the two is even worth it. There's another way of looking at it. So let's get into it. The first one I'm going to start with is ashwagandha. Now, this I'm going to be honest with you, I'm going to put my hand up is a personal favorite of mine. I take it every day. Obviously, I cycle on and off it, because that's what we need to do, and I'll get into that in the episode, but let's start with the ashwagandha to start off with. So, first of all, it is a herbal supplement.

Speaker 1: 4:05

Now, this has been used in centuries in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. Now, people often call it an adaptogen. So what does this mean? And what this means is it actually helps our body to adapt to stress. But how does it actually work? Well, the main thing it targets is a hormone called cortisol, which is our primary stress hormone, because when cortisol is chronically elevated, like it often is in our shift workers, because we're living on high alert, disrupted circadian rhythms, our body is under stress, even if we don't feel stress ourself. Now this can actually mess with your sleep, and I'm talking high cortisol here. It can impact on your mood, your digestion and also on your recovery. Now, ashwagandha has been shown in multiple studies and it has very robust evidence behind it that it will actually support lowering cortisol levels and, in doing so, does help with feelings of anxiety and restlessness. Now, in plain terms, if your stress is sky high and you feel that you just can't calm down, especially at night, ashwagandha might just help ease that tired but wide feeling.

Speaker 1: 5:26

Now, dosage does matter, because most supplements offer somewhere between 220 milligrams to 600 milligrams of ashwagandha root extract per day. Now, a lot of research has focused on that 600 milligram range, which is often split into two by 300 milligram doses. Now I take one in the morning and I take one about an hour before bed. You could take one before shift and one before sleep. This is an ideal way for you to take it.

Speaker 1: 5:59

The thing that I do notice about ashwagandha from a personal level and it's hard to put your finger on it, but it does seem to just level you out a bit. It's hard, but it is one supplement that I do take that I do notice it's almost like a herbal antidepressant. It just helps to just level you out. It's interesting. Are there any side effects to it? Look, side effects to ashwagandha are usually mild. Sometimes we can think of it as a bit digestive upset or a bit of drowsiness. It's not so much drowsiness, I don't see. I just feel it like just a bit flattened out. All right, but this is a big but, because now if you've got thyroid or if you've got any liver issues or if you're pregnant and I mean this it's important that you discuss this with your doctor before taking ashwagandha, because it can actually interfere with thyroid hormones in some people. It is quite powerful ashwagandha, and that's why we take it in two doses of 300 milligram.

Speaker 1: 7:08

Now the other thing that I want to warn about ashwagandha as well is majority. Again, just like any supplement, the quality is garbage on the shelf. I highly recommend that if you're looking at an ashwagandha, the one thing that you do look for is look for KSM 66 certification on it. What this means is and that's the letters KSM 66. And what that actually means is it's certified as the root, as quality, it's certified as the root. Instead of just being crushed up leaves and the upper part of the plant, we want the root. That is where the adaptogen quantities are actually in it. So don't just walk in to a pharmacy or a supplement store and just pick up any ashwagandha and start taking it, because you might be thinking, well, this doesn't work, and that's because it's absolute rubbish. And again, the efficacy of these supplements is pretty ordinary. Now, if you go to my website, healthyshiftcom, on my recommended product page, I do actually have one that I recommend and it is actually the one that I take, and this is by a brand Jarrow, and it's Jarrow Ashwagandha. It comes in 300 milligram capsules, makes it easy to take one in the morning, one at night or one before you shift and one after or before you go to bed. So there you go. So that's ashwagandha to start off with.

Speaker 1: 8:42

Now let's talk about magnesium. Now, magnesium is another one. It's very complicated because there are so many different versions of magnesium for us to actually take, and a lot of people take magnesium and go no, this is a waste of time. It doesn't really do anything for me, and that's because you're taking the wrong type of magnesium. Magnesium comes in many, many different forms. Majority of the magnesium that you are seeing on the shelf is magnesium oxide, which is absolute rubbish and I mean absolute garbage and that's why it's cheap. So what you've got to do is you've got to be looking for the right one. So let's talk about magnesium and all of that as well.

Speaker 1: 9:20

Now, this one, it's a mineral. It's not a herb. It's completely different, and it's absolutely essential in our body for over 300 biochemical reactions within our body. It's something that has interactions with absolutely everything. What do we need magnesium for in our body? Well, we need it to regulate nerve and muscle function. We need it to control our blood sugar levels. We need it to support energy production and, most relevant for our shift workers is it actually helps the brain and the body to calm down and stay calm.

Speaker 1: 9:58

Now, magnesium is also known for helping with the depth of sleep. It doesn't help. It's hard to explain about sleep. There's no actual evidence that links magnesium to sleep, but because it's a muscle relaxant, it actually helps with the deeper sleep. Magnesium also helps with melatonin production as well. It helps with muscle relaxation.

Speaker 1: 10:22

Now this is good for people who suffer from restless legs or you get cramping ladies, really, really good. If you're getting a lot of cramping, particularly around that luteal phase of your menstrual cycle, the right type of magnesium might be something that you could consider. That might help to calm things down a bit for you, and it also helps with anxiety reduction as well by its pathway of calming the nervous system. So if you're struggling to switch off or you're waking up multiple times during the day after night shift, magnesium may be something that could be a missing piece for you. Now here's the thing Many people, shift workers especially are generally quite low in magnesium. Now, this is because of poor diet, high stress, a lot of sweating and this one drinking too much caffeine can all deplete your magnesium levels. That's right. Drinking too much caffeine can deplete your magnesium. Think about how much you drink.

Speaker 1: 11:30

There are a few forms of magnesium out there. I've discussed that. There's about five or six different ones and you can get a broad spectrum. There's one made by Fusion, which I know is available here. It's got a bit of every type in it as well, all the different types of magnesium. So you're getting a bit of everything but magnesium glycinate and magnesium citrate are the two most common ones. Now, glycinate is best for calming the nervous system and also for aiding sleep or the restorative sleep, while citrate is often used for wait for it constipation. So choose them wisely. Otherwise you might find that the one that you're taking is not actually relaxing the muscle or it might be relaxing the wrong muscle and you might find yourself sitting on the toilet.

Speaker 1: 12:22

Now the general upper limit for supplementation is around about 350. I'm just playing it safe here. Around 350 milligrams a day. Too much will cause diarrhea, so do not go actually hammering magnesium. More is not better. Just get it right. That's all you've got to actually do we can get.

Speaker 1: 12:43

Also. We can get magnesium from food quite easy Leafy greens. We get it from our nuts and seeds Really easy to just actually get it in A handful of nuts, and you might probably find that you're getting enough magnesium as well. Now, which one's better? So the big question which one is actually better out of these two? And it depends on your own body and what you're dealing with. And this is what is really important for you to know.

Speaker 1: 13:07

Just because it works for me or it works for Jenny, it doesn't mean that it's going to work for you as well, because for magnesium to be effective, you've got to be deficient in it. So don't think that, oh, I'll just take magnesium because I'm going to need it If you're not deficient in it, you are absolutely wasting your time. So if you're someone who has a lot of leafy greens or nuts or seeds or any other magnesium containing foods, then you're going to find that by taking magnesium, you're actually just wasting your money or you're going to just end up on the toilet because you're overdosing in it. Now, just to summarize it if you're feeling anxious, overstimulated, or you find that you're stuck in fight or flight mode, which majority of shift workers are, ashwagandha may actually be the better choice for you. It helps to reduce that cortisol and it can calm that wide brain that you've got as well and, as I said, it actually just levels you out a little bit. It really does make a difference. And if you're feeling muscle tension or you're struggling with deep restorative sleep or you suspect that your diet's not good enough to be getting really good quality magnesium from, then magnesium could be more helpful for you. But here's the kicker you can actually benefit from using both One targeting your stress hormones and the other one supporting your nervous system.

Speaker 1: 14:31

But please and I say this as an underline before you go off and start Googling and searching for it or going to the supermarket, don't self-prescribe with this without doing your homework. And also, you must speak to a qualified health professional about this. The reason why I say that is because they've got a handle on your own medical history, with where you're at and what you're doing, because some of these can actually counter-interact with medications that you may or may not already be taking. So keep that in mind or it could impact on a health condition that you've got. Again, I underline this and I reiterate don't just go start taking supplements just for the hell of it, because you don't realise just how impactful some of these supplements can actually be. Discuss with your healthcare professional.

Speaker 1: 15:25

Now, when I work with shift workers, I always start with all of the basics before I recommend supplements. Remember, supplements are literally that they supplement, because you cannot supplement your way out of drinking energy drinks at 3 am in the morning to stay awake, or getting into bed and scrolling on your phone and can't work out while you go to sleep but then you wake up after a short time or just skipping meals or poor quality diet. But once you've got all the foundations there, you're eating well, you've got a good routine and you're actually prioritizing your own recovery, then sometimes targeted supplements can be a great add-on for you. Now I often recommend magnesium glycinate before sleep for people, and also it just helps to calm. Right, and that's the most important thing for a shift worker, it just helps to calm.

Speaker 1: 16:22

And then ashwagandha before your shift and also just before sleep, which really helps, and this can be for someone who's a little bit highly wired, a bit stressed. It can actually help. And if your sleep's poor as well, it can help to level you out and calm you for sleep. Your sleep's poor as well, it can help to level you out and calm you for sleep. Stacking them, yep, possible, but again, you know it, it's coming. Professional advice first, okay. So let's sum this up Ashwagandha helps to manage stress by lowering cortisol. It's great if your mind is racing or you can't seem to wind down, whereas magnesium helps to calm your body and your nervous system, and it's great if your sleep is broken or your body just feels tight or wired or you just feel depleted. Both can work well, but neither is a silver bullet and they work best as part of an entirely bigger plan, one that includes a proper sleep hygiene, getting good movement, getting early light exposure every day, a good, nutritious diet, and we need to be setting boundaries around work and our recovery.

Speaker 1: 17:32

Okay, so if this whole episode helped you to clear some things up, I'd love you to share it with a workmate, and if you've tried either ashwagandha or magnesium, send me a message and let me know how you went. You've been listening to A Healthy Shift and I'm Roger Sutherland. Take care of yourself and I will see you in the next episode. And don't forget, you can go to the recommended products page on ahealthyshiftcom and you'll find the supplements that I recommend right there, thank you. 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.