Opening And World Sleep Day

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 rigors 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. Hello, shift workers. My name is Roger Sutherland, and I am welcoming you to another episode of a Healthy Shift Podcast. Today is World Sleep Day. Can you believe it? The 13th of March 2026 is when this episode is published. And I want to talk directly today to shift workers. And the reason being you're special. Very special. And I want to talk about it because there is a conversation that is happening in every workplace that runs 24 hours a day. Someone says, Hey, how's your sleep? And the answer is usually the same. Terrible. I didn't get much. Oh, it's just part of the job. It's like poor sleep has become a badge of honor, but it's not. And the sooner that shift workers change that story, the better our long-term health is going to be all round. Sleep is not a luxury. I've got to be honest with you and tell you categorically: the more I learn, the more I realize it is one of the most important biological processes that your body has. Now, most shift workers accept poor sleep as unavoidable. And you hear it everywhere. Oh, I'll sleep when I'm retired. Oh, you can't sleep properly doing this job. Oh, that's just shift work. Oh, I'll sleep when I'm dead. But accepting poor sleep will come at a cost. And not just feeling tired tomorrow, but long-term damage to the brain and the body. And that's where the conversation needs to change. Because sleep is not just about rest. Sleep is literally your brain's maintenance. It's kind of important when you think about it. It's your brain. It's actually function, it's actually controlling every single function in your body. We need it. We sort of need it, right? Can't transplant it. We can't do it. It's just one of those things, right? We need it. Now, during sleep, the brain literally cleans itself. And there is a process which is called the lymphatic system. Now, I want you to think of this like a waste removal system. And while you are asleep, cerebrospinal, cerebrospinal, I finally got it out. I've made a note here of the word cerebrospinal fluid flows through the brain and it clears away metabolic waste. Now, one of those waste products being removed during sleep is called beta amyloid. Beta amyloid. Now, beta amyloid is strongly linked to Alzheimer's disease. Now, when sleep is poor, this waste removal process is impaired. And over time, these proteins from beta amyloid actually begin to accumulate. And this is why poor sleep is now considered a risk factor for the neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and dementias. Dementias. Dementia. Now, this is not about one bad night, although one bad night does contribute. It's about years of poor sleep adding up. Stop wearing it like a badge of honor. Because for shift workers, this risk is dead set real. You are literally risking your health, which is why we can't just shrug it and say, oh, well, that's the job. Sleep also controls your metabolism. When sleep is restricted, several things occur inside your body. One of the main contributing factors, or one of the biggest problems that we have, is our insulin sensitivity drops, which means that your body becomes less effective at actually managing glucose. And your hunger hormones change. Ghrelin, which is your hunger hormone, goes up. Although, we all know this, don't we? With those glucose cravings at night, chips, chocolate, lollies, that damn Jenny and her cake. Leptin goes down, which is your body's personal trainer, which says, no, we're good, we don't need to eat. Which means that you feel hungrier and less satisfied after eating. And this is why, and you'll notice this, that when you are sleep deprived, you actually crave higher calorie food. Now, over time, this increases the risk of weight gain. It increases type 2 diabetes risk and cardiovascular disease. And again, this is not about one bad week, it's about that cumulative impact over years. I want to be clear with you. Sleep is not optional. It is literally foundational. Now, a lot of people will say to me, and I hear this from shift workers all the time, oh, I go to sleep as soon as my head hits a pillow. And people say this like it's actually a good thing, but it often isn't. Because passing out quickly doesn't mean that you're actually a good sleeper. It often means that you are absolutely exhausted. Because true sleep health is about quality. It's not about the sleep that the speed that you fall asleep. You want sleep that is stable, sleep that is deep, and sleep that is restorative. Not sleep that you wake up tired from. You want to wake up well rested. And all of that starts with your sleep environment. So let's look at the foundations of good sleep. Because if we strip down the fundamentals, there are a few key factors. And note this darkness, sound, the room temperature, your temperature, stress management, and routine. They're the main five. So let's go through those. Darkness. Your brain literally needs darkness to produce melatonin. Any light hitting your eye, as low as it is, inhibits the production of melatonin. Now, melatonin is the hormone that signals to the rest of your body that it is time to rest. It actually signals the presence of darkness. So when you have zero light into your eye, it tells the pineal gland release melatonin, signaling that there is darkness outside. Now, our shift workers are often sleeping during the day, which means that sunlight and daylight becomes a problem. Now, even small amounts of light entering the eye can actually suppress melatonin. And this is why darkness is critical. And here's a test for you hold your arm out at full length and turn your hand to face yourself. And if you can see your hand in the area that you are actually sleeping, then it's too light. Don't tell me that, oh no, it's dark enough in my room. If you hold your arm out and you can see your hand on the end of your arm, it's not dark enough. It's that simple. That's the best test that you could actually use. Now, blackout curtains are useful, no doubt. But you know they're not optimal either. If you've got one of those rollerblinds, perfect. But one of the simplest tools that you can use that makes such a big enormous difference is a sleep mask. Because a good sleep mask blocks light completely. Your brain experiences complete darkness even when the sun is up. And what can happen is you can actually open your eyes under a quality sleep mask and think, oh, it's still completely dark. And here's a funny story for you. I remember rolling over in the middle of what was a day on night shift and touching my phone screen to find out what time it was and thinking, my phone's not working. So I was tapping the screen. I thought, my phone won't come on. So I started tapping it more and harder and harder than I realized I had my sleep mask on. Good one, Raj. But anyway, that's what happens. And you get very used to it. Now I highly recommend, and you know you don't have to follow me for long. I recommend the Mantis Sleep Mask Pro. And the reason why I do this is because it's not hot on your face, it's super comfortable, it's great for side sleepers, it's got cooling eye cups, it's just fantastic. You don't even realize that you've got it on. And you can open your eyes underneath it. Ladies, with your extended lashes, your lashes won't even touch it. It is fantastic. And you can open your eyes under it and you won't see a thing. In the show notes, there'll be a link to my recommended products. I highly recommend that you go and have a look at the products that are on that page. I'll talk about that more later. For many shift workers, that single change of a sleep mask can dramatically improve their sleep quality. So try it. Don't just go and buy some shitty sleep mask and go, nah, this doesn't work. It doesn't work for me. Get something that's quality. Now the next one is sound. Noise is a major sleep disruptor. Traffic, neighbors, the garbage truck, the kids playing outside, all the normal daytime sounds. You ever noticed when you want to sleep on night shift, that's when the neighbor wants to whip a snip on uh lawn next door or mow it. But this becomes a major problem when you're trying to sleep on night shift. And that's why you need to manage sound. And one option is sleep buds. They block external noise and can also play white noise. Now, white noise creates a constant sound that masks the sudden changes in environment. Now, I'm not talking about listening to fire sounds or river sounds or rain sounds or forest sounds. I'm talking about white noise because it's constant and it's at a certain level and a certain frequency that your brain focuses on and suddenly it doesn't hear anything outside of that. This helps the brain to stay asleep. I could not possibly recommend the Oslo sleep buds any higher for this. I had the bow sleep buds when I was shift working eight years ago. I spoke about the Oslo sleep buds in a few podcasts ago. I could not possibly recommend the Oslo sleep buds anymore. They play your binaural beats and then register as soon as you go on to sleep and then just switch over to that white noise. They are worth every cent. Incredible. For shift workers sleeping during the day, that can make the difference. Not just a difference, but the difference from poor sleep to good. Now the next thing is temperature. Because temperature really does matter a lot more than people realize. Now your body temperature naturally drops when you fall asleep. And that drop is literally what signals to the body it's time to sleep. So if the room is too warm or your bed gets too warm, the body struggles to cool down, you will wake up or you won't go to sleep. Now, the ideal sleep temperature for most sit people sits around 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. It's cool. It's not cold, it's cool. And many people completely underestimate just how much temperature affects sleep quality. Now, a lot of people will sleep with an air conditioner on 18 to 20 degrees in the room, and that's ideal. You've got it set at that temperature, and it's keeping you at that temperature, and that's great. But you can still get hot in bed. And this is where it became life-changing for us because we've started using the Oak Sleep mattress topper, the Hub 2 mattress topper. It's been life-changing for us. In fact, Melissa is the first one to turn it on. What it does, it's a mattress topper that sits on top of your mattress under your sheet, and it's water cooled. It's really thin, but it's water cooled. And we've got our set at 18 to 20 degrees, and it maintains that temperature, and your body stays at the perfect temperature to stay asleep. Now, if you're listening to this podcast in a warmer client up in northern Victoria, New South Wales, or even Queensland, and far north Queensland, if you haven't got an oak sleep mattress topper, then you're missing out because this is life-changing. It's got a small hub that sits next to the bed that runs and it's water cooled. It's like having air conditioning in your bed at exactly the right temperature. No subscription, free delivery. Australia developed. It is fantastic. Yes, I'm promoting another product, but I've got to tell you, it is fantastic. A lot of people underestimate how much temperature affects sleep, and we wake up hot, and then once we wake up, that's it, isn't it? Now this helps to regulate temperature throughout the night. And that means that there's no overheating and fewer wake ups. And while we're talking about comfort, let me ask you something. When was the last time that you replaced your mattress? When was the last time that you replaced your pillow? Because majority of people keep them for far too long. A worn mattress or a flattened pillow can literally destroy your sleep quality. Your bed is where you spend a third of your life, and it should support good sleep. Now let's look at your bedroom environment. Let's stand at the door and let's have a look into your bedroom together. No, you can't start hurrying up to clean it up just because I'm coming to stand there at the doorway. What you see is what it is. Clutter in your bedroom is a contributing factor to poor sleep. It's proven. A bedroom should feel calm, not chaotic. Clutter signals unfinished tasks. It signals that you are cluttered and messy in your head. Your brain notices this. A clean and organized room literally supports better sleep. Simple changes matter. Dark, quiet, cool, comfortable, calm. Think about it. That's what brings good sleep. Then the stress. You cannot expect the body to switch off from high alerts straight into deep sleep. We've talked about this a number of times on the podcast. Especially after an adrenaline-fueled and highly demanding shift. You police, nurses, paramedics, emergency workers. Your nervous system's been running hot. The adrenaline's been running. It needs to wind down. There is no off switch. And this is where your routine becomes super powerful. What routine? Because your body loves patterns. We're not talking clock time here. We're talking a pattern of routine of when we're going to sleep. Because your body loves patterns. It loves routines. When you repeat the same pre-sleep routine every time, your brain starts to respond to, it recognizes and responds to that signal. Ah, sleep is coming. My routine is simple. First, zero blue light. Phones and screens off. Hot shower. The drop in body temperature afterwards helps to trigger and signal to the body sleepiness. When you get into bed, lavender spray. If you're in Australia, you can get one from Chemist Warehouse, which is very simple. Just a couple of puffs, just spray it. That scent actually signals a routine of sleep. And lavender is very calming. Then we get into bed. Put the sleep mask on, put the sleep buds in, put the sounds on, and then we do our breathing. Slow breathing to calm the nervous system. Breathing in for four, breathing out for eight. Then what we do is we do a simple muscle relaxation technique. We tense and release each muscle group. Tense your left foot and release it. Tense your left calf and release it. Tense your whole left leg and release it. Then do the same for the right and work your way up your body. Because what this does, it actually hands over to sleep. It tells your body it's safe to switch off. And from there, sleep usually follows. Now it doesn't have to be complicated, but it does have to be consistent. But that routine is the kind of routine that soldiers will do in a battlefield and still fall asleep. It works. So if you're struggling from sleep, ask yourself if you're going through a correct routine. Are you actually cuing your body for sleep? Now, shift workers cannot eliminate every sleep challenge. I get it. But we can stop accepting poor sleep as normal because the long-term health consequences are far, far too serious. Sleep supports our brain health, and we may not recover from it afterwards. Metabolic health, hormonal health, emotional regulation, and recovery. It is literally one of the most powerful tools that we have for longevity. So, this world sleep day. I want shift workers to change one thing and stop saying that poor sleep is just part of the job. And instead start asking, what is there that I can do to improve it? And I want to make a footnote here too, and it's a very important one. And I realize that we're 19 minutes in, but I want you to say this. If you are someone who is taking medications to sleep, like rest of it, or nurses' aid or something along those lines to go to sleep, you are not sleeping. You are unconscious. And your brain does not go through that gymphatic flush. And that beta amyloid still builds up. So if you're continually taking medications to sleep, you are unconscious, you are not sleeping. And it's very important that you understand that natural sleep, there is no alternative. So if you're struggling with sleep as a shift worker, this is one thing. And one of the key points that I help people with in my one-to-one coaching. Because your roster is different from hers and from his. And everyone's life situation is completely different. So the solution for you has to be personalized. And I will work with you from where you are at right now. So if you want help improving your sleep, your health while working shifts, there is a link in the show notes. Reach out and let's start working on this together because it's important. And to all the shift workers listening today, happy World Sleep Day. Let's change the language. I'll talk to you on the next one. 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 ahealthyshift.com. I'll catch you on the next one.