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. Welcome back to A Healthy Shift. My name, roger Sutherland, and if this is your first time listening, welcome. And if you're a regular, I want to say thank you, because I really do appreciate you.

Speaker 1: 2:32

Today I want to talk about something that we don't usually bring up when it comes to shift work. And no, it's not fatigue, it's not sleep, it's not what we should eat, it's not. Comes to shift work. And no, it's not fatigue, it's not sleep, it's not what we should eat, it's not how to lose weight, it's not about you've got to hydrate, you've got to get sky before screen. It's something completely different and it's something that a lot of people are going to relate to, and that is the loneliness. Yep. This one's going to hit home for a lot of people. It's only a brief one, but I do want to cover it to give people support in this area.

Speaker 1: 3:07

Now, shift work can be incredibly isolating. Even if you are surrounded by people at work, you can still feel completely alone, and that feeling it gets very, very heavy. I remember plenty of nights back in my frontline policing days long night shifts, christmases on the job, birthdays missed, and mates who slowly stopped inviting me to things because I was just always working and never around, and we all know that those that are new to shift work will know what it's like. It's really hard to try and catch up with people that you had before you joined the job or shift work or whatever it was that you did. Now, at first we just brush it off and you think, oh well, it's just the job, it is what it is. But over time those cracks start to show, because what happens is you get fatigued and then you stop calling people back, and then what happens is you start disconnecting from the people who you were very connected to before. You miss out on all that small talk, and so when you are at a barbecue or you are at a function, you're not up to speed with all of the conversations that they're actually having, and this really starts to have an impact. Suddenly you realize I'm completely disconnected from them and even from yourself.

Speaker 1: 4:34

So let's talk about why this happens, because when you work nights, weekends, public holidays, it just doesn't match the rest of the world. Your partner's asleep, you're wide awake. You're wide awake, she's fast asleep, vice versa. I've said the same thing again in reverse, haven't I Like a dill? So the other thing is you're sleeping, they're wide awake. Your kids are at sport. Where are you In bed? Your mates are at the pub on Friday night. Yep, you're in bed early because you've got to get up for a 6am shift on Saturday.

Speaker 1: 5:08

The routine that brings most people connection. We totally miss it. Everyone looks forward to Friday night, and then it's Saturday, and it's Saturday night, and then it's Sunday and we go to the footy and we do whatever, but we miss that. Now we are wired as humans to connect. It is human biology and shift work often gets in the way of that. But here's the thing that I really want to drive home today Loneliness isn't just a sad feeling.

Speaker 1: 5:40

I feel lonely. It actually has real consequences. It starts to affect your sleep, it impacts on your decision-making. It drives emotional eating, really drives emotional eating, poor recovery and even chronic illness and stress. In fact, even chronic illness and stress. In fact, we have to really monitor ourselves as to how much we are withdrawing from everybody outside of our job. So what is there that we can actually do? Because we can't always change our roster, we know that. But we can take small and intentional steps to reconnect with people, and here are a few ideas that I share with clients and I also used myself.

Speaker 1: 6:30

Number one micro connections matter. Now, you don't have to go out all night, you don't have to go out all day. You can just catch up for a coffee. You can literally just pick up your phone and send a two-minute voice message to a friend it seems to be the way that people do it these days or a text G'day mate, how are you going, what's happening? That's connection, because you don't feel so isolated in the world. Number two find your shift work people. Other shift workers get it. This is the very reason why I created the Shift Workers Collective, because you're never alone. It's a subscription-based 24-7 community and it doesn't matter if it's 3am or if it's 3pm. There's always someone around who actually understands you, they get you, they get it. Give that a thought. Number three schedule connections like a meeting when you're on night shift and you're doing those number of nights.

Speaker 1: 7:32

Have a think about what you're going to do on your days off. Don't wait for the days off. Look ahead, I've got a day off. I'll catch up with Karen, I'll do that. I'll catch up with Sandra, I can do that. All those people. Book it in and commit yourself to doing it. Don't wait until the end of the rest day, because you'll get to the end of the rest day and you won't have done anything.

Speaker 1: 7:57

And this is also so typical. Plan a FaceTime with family or whatever. Set a reminder to call your mum. Don't leave it to chance, because it won't happen. You know as well as I do. If you don't set it in your calendar with a reminder, you won't remember to do it or you'll get to the end of the day, and then you'll be disappointed in yourself and then you'll feel like you've let yourself down. And therein lies the problem as well. You're letting yourself down and you're isolated, you're lonely, and this causes massive problems.

Speaker 1: 8:33

And be honest, this is another point. Tell the people close to you that shift work makes you feel so goddamn distant from them. Let them in. They might not understand your roster, but they know and love you and they will understand you. Look, there is no doubt about it that shift work is tough, but you don't have to do it alone. If today's episode has made you actually pause and reflect, or even just tear up a little, you are not the only one, because loneliness absolutely thrives in silence. So let's bring it into the open and let's talk about it. Let's connect. So let's bring it into the open and let's talk about it. Let's connect. And if you need somewhere to start, come and find me inside the Shift Workers Collective, because this is the exact reason why I actually built it.

Speaker 1: 9:25

One thing that I want to ask you today, as you sit there and you analyze your shift working life, is are you just surviving or are you really thriving in it? Because if you're just surviving, then you're going to find that you're going to get more and more and more isolated. Are you getting to the stage where you're just screaming at the kids? Are you getting to the stage where you're just fighting with your partner? What's become your new normal? Have a think about what's become your new normal. Did you think about what's become your new normal? Did you used to be an up and about person that was out and about doing all sorts of different things and now you're not?

Speaker 1: 10:00

Where can you start to snack on relationships with your friends and people? Where can you snack on that? Where can you slot in a coffee? Catch up? Where can you slot in a walk or whatever? Make it multi-purpose, organise for someone to catch up and walk with them. You can chat, you can walk, you're getting your movement, you're getting your light, you're getting all the good stuff and you're catching up with someone at the same time. And if you need help with that, don't hesitate to actually reach out and get professional help around it as well. Shift work is tough and this subject is a difficult one loneliness. So if you do feel lonely, just start putting little strategies in place, because you can be around family and you can be around your colleagues, but you can be the loneliest person on the planet, and I'll leave it at that.

Speaker 1: 10:57

Thanks again for listening, and if this episode resonated with you, I ask you just to share it with a fellow shift worker that may actually be struggling, and if you haven't already, could you do me a favor and hit, follow on the podcast and also give it a rating.

Speaker 1: 11:14

On Spotify, just go to the main page and there's a rating spot right there, and on Apple, you can scroll down to the bottom and you can give it a rating and in a few minutes you could just write it a review.

Speaker 1: 11:26

Now you guys have been really slack on this lately and I do one of these twice a week and put them out, and I would really really appreciate it a week and put them out, and I would really really appreciate it if, once this episode is completed, if you would literally just go and just give it five stars, or go to Apple and give it stars and just give it a slight review, so that someone like you can actually find this podcast to support them in their shift working life. So I want you to take care of yourself out there. I want you to know you're actually not alone. I see you, we see you. That's a healthy shift and I'll catch you on the next episode. 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.