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.

Speaker 1: 2:13

Enjoy today's show and welcome back to another episode of a Healthy Shift podcast, the show that is dedicated to helping you, the shift worker, thrive and not just survive in your very, very unique 24-7 work schedule. I'm your host, roger Sutherland, and today it's another spotlight into a topic that touches almost every single shift worker, often without us fully realizing just how profound the impact is. Today we're talking about the sleep trifecta, which is alcohol, nicotine and caffeine Now I get it. Caffeine, now I get it. Trust me, when you are battling fatigue and you are trying to unwind after a really demanding shift, whether it be mental or physical, or simply just trying to get through to the next one, these three substances can feel like essential tools in your arsenal. But what if those tools are actually working against you, subtly undermining your health, your sleep and your overall well-being, and that's why I'm here to talk about them today. I know in the background we all think, oh no alcohol, we know it's bad, but we do it. Nicotine Now a lot less people are using cigarettes or nicotine patches or gums these days, but I know of people who not even smokers that are using nicotine as a stimulant while they're working overnight, and I've done a podcast on that myself and there's also a blog on my website. If you go into healthyshiftcom and actually then go up to the top to the resources and under blogs, go into the blogs and you'll see that there's one there on nicotine and the impacts of those nicotine gums that a lot of people are using for whatever ridiculous reason on night shift.

Speaker 1: 4:20

So let's cover off on some of them. Let's start with the big one. All right, now we use it as a relaxant. We socialize with it. It's become part of what we do when we're partying. Essentially, we use it after a tough shift as well, because we get home and we use it to relax.

Speaker 1: 4:39

The big one is alcohol. Now many of us reach for a beer or a glass of wine or some form of spirit to just wind down. We get home, we've driven home, we walk in, we go to the fridge, grab a beer, sit on the couch, fire up the TV, have a couple of beers to wind down and this is the way we signal to our bodies that the workday is over. We do, and for a moment it feels like it's actually working, because you get this sense of relaxation, even drowsiness that helps you drift off, and so many people get to the stage where they actually rely on it. But here is a critical point that you need to understand. Here is a critical point that you need to understand the sleep you get after consuming alcohol is a long, long way from deep, restorative sleep that you actually need on the back of that horrendous shift that you've gone through.

Speaker 1: 5:30

Alcohol actually disrupts your natural sleep architecture. Now it might help you to fall asleep faster, but it significantly reduces your REM sleep, and REM sleep is a really crucial stage where our dreaming occurs. This is where our brain actually consolidates those memories and where much of your mental and emotional restoration takes place. Don't impact on that, because, as the alcohol is metabolized by your body and around the middle of the night, this often leads to you waking up or fragmented sleep and a much lighter and less refreshing sleep overall. So, while you might think that you're asleep, you are not getting the deep, rejuvenating, restful sleep that your body so desperately craves to help you to recover from the impacts of shift work. You end up waking up and feeling groggy, not refreshed and sometimes even more tired than when you very first went to bed. Then you end up having that lie in, then you end up trying to catch up on sleep, missing out on that light and further desynchronizing your circadian rhythm. Now, beyond sleep, let's talk about something. And further desynchronizing your circadian rhythm.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Now, beyond sleep, let's talk about something that many of you might have experienced, might be experienced or having heard about, and especially my female listeners and those of you who are perimenopausal or menopausal the mum-tum or the unexplained weight gain. Now listen, you need to listen carefully to this, because alcohol is a significant culprit here, and it's more than just those empty calories. Just tracking it doesn't help. When you consume alcohol, your body actually prioritizes metabolizing it over everything else. Your liver is a vital organ for countless bodily functions and it has to work overtime to process the alcohol out of your system. This means that fat burning is essentially just put on hold. Your body isn't able to efficiently break down and to use stored fat for energy when it's busy dealing with the poison in your system known as alcohol. Now, furthermore, alcohol can disrupt your blood sugar regulation, which ends up leading to cravings for unhealthy foods and a tendency to store more fat, especially around the midsection. Now for peri or menopausal women, this effect is often exacerbated due to the hormonal shifts that already make weight management even more challenging. Now, estrogen levels fluctuate, metabolism can slow and fat tends to redistribute to the abdominal area. This is what happens normally.

Speaker 1: 8:17

Now let's throw some alcohol into the mix and you've got a perfect storm for stubborn belly fat. And it's not just about the calories. It's about how alcohol interferes with your body's metabolic processes, making it much harder to maintain a healthy weight. And this is where a lot of the problems come from. I diet and I can't lose weight, but I'm going to have two glasses of wine when I finish work. Oh, but I've got this mum-tum and I want to get rid of it. Think about it. All right, alcohol. Nothing good comes from alcohol. I know I'm an anti-alcoholist I gave away alcohol on the 1st of January in 2024, but I can't tell you how much better I feel because of it and look outside and looking in. And the reason why I stopped was because the more I read about it, the more I understood about it, the more I realised just how impactful it is on our health. All right, enough about alcohol. I know you're all going to just go out there and still continue to do it, but it is very, very toxic for our body and causes no end of grief.

Speaker 1: 9:19

So, next up, let's tackle nicotine. Now, while perhaps less prevalent than alcohol or caffeine, use nicotine. Whether it's from cigarettes, vapes or whether we're using those chewing gums. They present its own unique set of challenges. For you, the shift worker Now, nicotine is a stimulant just like caffeine. It revs up your central nervous system and increases your heart rate and your blood pressure. This is the exact opposite of what your body needs when it's trying to wind down for sleep, and using nicotine close to bedtime or even during those short breaks on a night shift can significantly delay sleep onset and lead to a much more fragmented sleep. Many smokers can even report waking up, or heavy smokers or heavy nicotine users can report waking up in the middle of the night due to nicotine withdrawal, need another cigarette to go back to sleep. What a vicious cycle. I mean, really have a think about it.

Speaker 1: 10:20

Beyond sleep, nicotine's impact on your biological health is extremely well documented now and there is no excuse. We're talking about increased risk of cardiovascular disease, respiratory issues and a multitude of cancers For shift workers, who are already dealing with increased physiological stress due to our disrupted circadian rhythms and all of the stresses and inflammation that is put on our body as a result of that rotating shift work and inflammation that is put on our body as a result of that rotating shift work. Adding nicotine into that mix only amplifies these risks as well. Now your body is already working harder to adapt to an unnatural schedule. Introducing a potent vasoconstrictor and toxin like nicotine will place an even greater burden on those vital organs in your system that really needs to function properly as a shift worker. It impairs blood flow, it reduces oxygen delivery to tissues and it flat out compromises your immune system. We're already compromised and this makes you much more susceptible to illness.

Speaker 1: 11:31

I don't have to go on about nicotine. You well and truly know, and for those of you that are still smoking or using nicotine gums, you need to have a really, really good look at that, because, as a shift worker, you are already compromised. It's like putting another round into the chamber and spinning it. So you haven't just got one, you've got two, all right. Keep that in mind. It is haven't just got one, you've got two, all right. Keep that in mind. It is something that is really important for you to consider.

Speaker 1: 11:57

Now, finally, let's talk about the fuel of all of us shift workers In fact, majority of us in life, and that is caffeine. Ah, caffeine, our beloved ally in the battle against fatigue. But as with all powerful allies, we need to understand its true nature as well. Caffeine how does it work? Well, let's understand this. Caffeine works by blocking adenosine receptors in your brain. So adenosine is a neurotransmitter that builds up through the day, creating what we call sleep pressure, which is a homeostat sleep homeostat. Now, the more adenosine, the stronger your urge is to sleep, which is why, the longer you are awake, the more adenosine builds up and attaches to your brain. Now, caffeine blocks these adenosine receptors. So when caffeine blocks these receptors, it effectively masks that sleep pressure. It makes you feel more alert and awake, even when your actual body is screaming for rest. It's a massive conflict in your system.

Speaker 1: 13:08

Now. This is why you can feel absolutely exhausted, and you can still drink a strong coffee and suddenly feel a surge of energy. You haven't eliminated your sleep debt. What you've done is you've just temporarily overridden your body's natural signaling system for sleep. Now the real problem arises when we rely on caffeine to push through fatigue, and especially on night shifts, and then try to transition to sleep. Caffeine has a half-life of around about six hours five to six hours, meaning that it takes that long for half of the caffeine that you've consumed to be eliminated from your system, and for some people it can be even longer than that. So that coffee that you had at 2am to just get you through to the end of your shift will still be impacting on your brain at 8am when you are trying to sleep.

Speaker 1: 14:03

Now this leads to a common scenario for shift workers, and that is you get home after a night shift, you are utterly exhausted, which is due to accumulated sleep pressure, and you finally fall asleep, but then a few hours later, you wake up feeling wired, often before you've even had enough restorative sleep. And why? Because, while the sleep pressure helped you to fall asleep, the lingering effects of the caffeine running through your bloodstream are now winning the battle. As the caffeine slowly clears, the adenosine receptors become unblocked. But your body isn't necessarily ready to stay asleep for a full restorative cycle, and caffeine has effectively fragmented your sleep, particularly your deep, restorative sleep. Now, deep sleep, or slow wave sleep, is crucial for our physical restoration. This is when our growth hormone is released and immune function is at its optimal to help us.

Speaker 1: 15:00

If caffeine is constantly interfering with your ability to reach and sustain deep sleep, then what you're doing is you are rolling the dice on your vital recovery from your shift work. Now you might feel like you've slept, but the quality of that sleep is significantly compromised, leading to chronic fatigue. It will impair your cognitive function and you will absolutely have a weakened immune function over time. And if you think about it, how often are you, the shift worker, sick or do you become susceptible to all sorts of whatever's going around? Think about it how often are you, the shift worker, sick or do you become susceptible to all sorts of whatever's going around? Think about it. This is what happens Poor sleep, poor immune system, all right. So what can we actually take away from all this? Because it's not about demonizing these substances entirely, but about becoming conscious consumers and understanding the profound impact that they have, especially for you, the shift worker. So here are some key takeaways and an actionable strategy to help you.

Speaker 1: 16:01

What I want you to do and I'm not going to be negative, nancy, here, but I just want you to re-evaluate your relationship with alcohol. If you are using it to unwind or to sleep, recognize that it's a false friend. Explore a healthier wind down routine hot bath reading, gentle stretching, mindfulness. Boring, I know, but alcohol is detrimental as a big problem. If you do choose to have a drink, do so well, before your planned sleep time and in moderation. And I would suggest, if you're going to have, if you have to do it, do it socially, not as a tool to help you to wind down. And be especially mindful of that mum-tum effect if you're a peri or a menopausal woman, because that is the problem.

Speaker 1: 16:49

Now you've got to prioritize quitting nicotine. I want to be clear there is no safe level of nicotine use. Those that are using those gums on night shift to actually get through the shift detrimental. There is no safe use. The benefits of your sleep on your cardiovascular health and your overall well-being as a shift worker are immense and your overall wellbeing as a shift worker are immense. So seek support from a healthcare professional or try and do whatever you can, as far as the cessation program goes, to help you to give that nicotine away.

Speaker 1: 17:24

The next step is strategic caffeine use. I'm not going to tell you to stop caffeine I would never do that. I love my caffeine myself but this is probably the most challenging for shift workers. We need to try to front load your caffeine intake and if you're on night shift, consider having your last caffeinated drink at midnight or before. This is long before your wind down period begins. I would experiment with reducing your overall intake and exploring alternatives.

Speaker 1: 17:54

If you like the taste of caffeine, what about trying decaf or even herbal teas? And pay attention to how caffeine affects your deep sleep, not your ability to fall asleep. Initially, I hear this over and over again oh, I can have an espresso and go to sleep. Yeah, of course we can all do that. That's because you're so tired, but you will wake up and you are not getting that deep, restorative sleep. Very important to understand. I have a rule around caffeine for myself 12 o'clock and I've said this before but 12 o'clock midday, 12 o'clock, midnight, when on night shift, no caffeine after that time at all. And what you need to do also is you need to focus on your holistic sleep hygiene. That sleep hygiene is how you protect your sleep. This means creating a dark, quiet, cool sleep environment and having a consistent pre-sleep routine. This helps your body to understand that this is what you want it to do and protect your sleep time as much as possible, even with a shift work schedule.

Speaker 1: 19:01

The other thing hydration, often overlooked, but staying well hydrated with water can help to fight the fatigue and reduce the urge to reach for these stimulants. Hydration incredibly underrated. And hydration after midday hydration after midnight makes a big difference. Sip, don't chug. And nutrition a balanced diet provides sustained energy and it reduces the need for quick fixes like caffeine or a sugary snack which leads to a spike but then an energy crash and repeat. So low GI, I say after three o'clock, really important that you stick with low GI diets for the night shift. And movement even a short burst of exercise can improve your energy level and your sleep quality. Even a short burst of exercise can improve your energy level and your sleep quality, so it reduces the need for any of these that you think that you may need.

Speaker 1: 19:55

Ultimately, managing the impact of alcohol, nicotine and caffeine as a shift worker comes down to your own awareness and making disciplined and intentional choices. These substances may offer quick fixes that often create long-term problems, especially when your body and brain are under the unique stressor shift work. But understanding how they truly affect your sleep, your mental clarity and your physical health can help you to make much more informed decisions that truly support your well-being. I don't want to hear you telling me I can't sleep. I'm a really poor sleeper when you're using alcohol, nicotine and caffeine poorly, because that's the first three areas that I would start to speak to you and ask you about if you came to me and said sleep's a problem. So there you go.

Speaker 1: 20:51

So thank you so much for joining me today on a healthy shop. Healthy shop, it is a healthy shop on a healthy shift. If this episode resonates with you, do me a favour share it with a fellow shift worker who could really benefit from this, especially those nicotine gum chewers. My goodness me. Until next time, stay healthy, stay rested and keep thriving in your unique work-life balance. 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.