Welcome to A Healthy Shift

Speaker 1 0:06

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 0:57

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 1:31

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

The Hidden Loneliness of Shift Work

Speaker 1 2:31

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 2:58

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 3:33

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 4:04

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 4:54

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

Why Shift Workers Feel Isolated

Speaker 1 5:06

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 5:56

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 ,

Strategies to Combat Shift Work Loneliness

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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 6:21

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 6:58

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 7:50

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 8:25

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 9:21

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 9:38

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 9:50

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 .

You're Not Alone: Finding Connection

Speaker 1 10:49

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 .