Why Some Shift Workers Thrive

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Have you ever noticed that there are some shift workers who just seem to cope? They're working exactly the same roster, they're doing the same 12-hour shifts, they're dealing with the same workload, yet somehow they seem to have more energy. They sleep better, they're healthier, and when they're at work, they're actually switched on. And then there's the rest of us, dragging ourselves through another shift, living on caffeine, trying to catch up on sleep on our days off, and we're wondering why we're putting on weight, feeling exhausted all the time. So what is the difference? Well, it isn't genetics, it isn't luck, and it certainly isn't the latest supplements, gadget or social media hack. The people who thrive are consistently reinforcing four simple biological signals that your body has relied on for thousands of years. And today I'm going to show you exactly what they are and why they matter and how you can start using them without turning your life upside down. It doesn't have to be this way. Whether you're a shift worker, trying to feel better, or a leader responsible for the people who keep your organisation running around the clock, you're in the right place.

Cut The Noise And Start Basics

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Welcome to a healthy shift. I'm Roger Sutherland, and after more than four decades of working 24-7 shifts with Victoria Police, followed by years of studying nutrition, circadian biology, human performance, and working with literally thousands of shift workers, I've made it my mission to change the conversation around shift work. Because healthier people create stronger teams, and stronger teams build better organisations. And it all starts by understanding how to work with your biology and not against it. Let's get into today's episode. And welcome back to a healthy shift. I am Roger Sutherland. And if this is your first time listening, I welcome you. But if you've been here before, I want to say thank you so much for coming back. Now I spent almost 40 years working shifts in frontline policing, and I know exactly what it is like to finish a night shift feeling like you've been hit by a truck, to struggle with sleep, and to wonder whether feeling permanently tired is simply just part of our job. And the good news is it isn't. And today I want to strip away all of the noise. Social media is full of people that are going to tell you, the shift worker, you've got to have this supplement. You need this gadget. Oh, you've got to have this, you've got to have this and that. Or I've got the latest biohack. Now I'm not saying that those things don't have a place because they do. And as you know, I talk about my recommended products because these are ones that I've tried to support you. But let's get the basics right first. Some of these absolutely do help, but they're not where you should start. And you don't build a house by choosing the curtains first up and then build the house around it. You build the foundations.

The Four Pillars Framework

SPEAKER_00 3:45

And everything that I teach inside a healthy shift is built on four foundations: sleep, daylight, movement, and nutrient timing. Because when you get those four things working with your biology instead of against it, you'll be amazed at how different that you can feel. I have learnt this. If only I had known this when I very, very first started shift work, my whole life of shift work would have been so different. This is why I want these conversations in place today. So that the new shift workers are learning the best way to go about it. What are the main things to do? Why is it some people work really well in shift work and others don't? It's because, and I want you to remember this as one of the biggest things ever. Your body is literally only responding to the signals that you are giving it. The data that you're putting in, it is responding to that. And when you get the data right going in, your biology responds because it's counting on it. And you'll be amazed at just how different you feel. So let's start with the biggest one first

Sleep Quality Beats Sleep Quantity

SPEAKER_00 5:06

up. And you know the most important is pillar one sleep. Because when I ask people what they think sleep is for, most tell me it's about resting. But it's so much more than that. And people need to understand this. Sleep is literally when your brain clears the waste products that build up throughout the day. It's when our memories are consolidated. It's when hormones are released to repair muscles and tissues. It's when your immune system resets, it's when your metabolism recalibrates. Sleep isn't just something that we do just to switch off for a short period of time. And it's not something that we shouldn't care about. It's one of the busiest periods that your body has every 24 hours. And when we consistently miss out on quality sleep, those repair processes don't happen. Or they don't happen as effectively. We don't think clearly. We become more emotionally reactive. Our hunger hormones become severely disrupted. I don't have to tell you that. We start to crave those highly processed foods because our brain is desperately searching for quick energy. And for shift workers, poor sleep isn't just about feeling tired. It becomes the foundation for so many other problems. Now, the simple solution as a shift worker is not chasing that seven to nine hours. For many shift workers, particularly those on night shift trying to sleep during the day, this is simply unrealistic. Instead, I want you to ask yourself this how can I make the sleep that I do get the best quality possible? That's the question. Take the pressure off yourself for this seven to nine hours. You're not meant to sleep during the day. You are a human, you are diurnal. But how can we make the sleep that we get the best quality possible? First of all, we make our room cool. It needs to be between 18 and 20 degrees. That's the temperature that we sleep well in. We've got to make it dark. Now, when I say dark, I mean pitch black. I've said this test before. Hold your arm at full length. Turn your hand to face you. If you can see your hand, it's too light. Remember, it's not just about closing your eyes and you can't see it because all the cells have got sensors in it. We need dark, like pitch black. We've got to reduce the noise and we've got to protect sleep like it's one of the most important appointments that you have to keep. Do you know why? Yeah, do it is the most important appointment that you've got to keep. That's the

Daylight As Your Free Reset

SPEAKER_00 7:57

first one. Number two is daylight. If I could prescribe one free intervention that every shift worker would benefit from, it would be daylight. That's right. That would be my number one. Natural light is one of the most strongest signals that your brain actually receives. Every day, every morning, specialized cells in your eyes called IPRGCs detect daylight. Not light, daylight, and send a message to the master clock in your brain. And then that clock then starts coordinating thousands of biological processes within your body. Hormones, your body temperature, digestion, alertness, sleep pressure. Everything starts to become synchronized when daylight is hit properly. Because without enough daylight, those systems start to drift apart. And this is when people tell me I just don't feel right. Of course you don't. Your biology has lost its strongest actor, uh, anchor of all. And the good news is you don't need hours of it. All you need to do is simply get outside for 10 or 15 minutes after waking. It can make such a meaningful difference over a period of time. Even if it's overcast, don't think, oh no, the sun's not shining. Even if it's raining, it doesn't matter. The light outdoors is still dramatically brighter than any indoor lighting that you have. Plus, the content of what's in that daylight is super important. The full spectrum of daylight is vital. Those lights in your house, no good. And we as shift workers spend far too much time indoors under artificial light. And we need to get out in daylight for a certain period of time. And you'd be amazed at literally just how much better you feel just doing that. So this is not about chasing sunrise after every night shift, it's about using daylight strategically.

Movement Without Gym Punishment

SPEAKER_00 10:11

Pillar three is movement. Now, movement has become something we think we need to schedule. You'll notice I've used the term movement, not exercise. Our bodies are designed to move. Every time you move, you're sending your body information. Your muscles release signaling molecules that communicate with your immune system and your brain. Movement improves insulin sensitivity. It supports cardiovascular health, protects muscle, improves mood, reduces stress. You don't need to punish yourself in the gym. Some days just a walk is enough. Some days resistance training is appropriate. Some days stretching and mobility are exactly what your body needs just to wind down and get some movement in it. The goal isn't perfection, the goal is actually consistency. Move more often than you don't move, and you'll find you'll be better.

Nutrient Timing On Night Shift

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Pillar four is nutrient timing, and this is critical. Because this one surprises a lot of people. We talk about calories in, calories out, and that's the be all and the end all. But we're learning more and more about it's not so much what we're eating, it's when we're actually eating it. Because most conversations around food are focusing on what we eat. Almost nobody is talking about when we eat. Seeing a shift worker sitting down tucking into a great big bowl of pasta at three o'clock in the morning terrifies me. I used to be that person because no one taught me, but I'm here to help. Our digestive system follows a circadian rhythm as well. And during the biological night, even if you're awake, your body is simply less prepared to process a large meal. And that's why so many shift workers experience bloating, reflux, indigestion, and gain weight. And they gain the worst possible body fat, that visceral body fat, in and around the organs in the abdomen. Now, it isn't because you're weak, it's biology. Now, that doesn't mean you never eat on night shift. It just means you've got to be more intentional about how you go about eating around it. Smaller meals, protein-rich snacks, avoiding heavy meals at three in the morning. And certainly not that bowl of pasta or damn Jenny and her cake. Creating consistency with your eating patterns where your roster allows. We need to work around that. And small adjustments make just such an enormous difference over months and years to how you feel and that weight gain and that biological impact that it has.

Habits Not Hacks For Health

SPEAKER_00 12:56

So let's bring all this together. Did you notice something? Not once did I mention a supplement, and not once did I ever mention an expensive technology, and not once did I mention any complicated routine. Because thriving on shift work is not built on hacks or products. It's simply built on habits. Every single day your body is asking these four simple questions. This is the data that it needs. Will I recover? Will I see daylight? Will I move? Will I nourish myself properly and at the right time? The more often you answer yes to those questions, the more your biology starts working with you instead of against you. And that is literally what thriving looks like. It's not perfection, it's actually consistency and picking one of those and working on one of those until you nail it and then moving on with the other. This is how my coaching works. So if today has shown you anything at all, I really hope it's this. Improving your health as a shift worker doesn't mean changing your entire life overnight. This is what my clients find. They cannot believe how easy it is and how much of an impact simple things make to their life. It just means you've got to make small and consistent decisions that reinforce the way your body is actually designed to function. And that's why I've built the Four Pillars framework. Not to give you more things to do, but to simplify what really matters. So forget chasing the next hate. Just master those fundamentals first. You will literally be amazed at what starts to change in your life and how much better you feel.

Personalised Plans And Coaching Offer

SPEAKER_00 14:48

So if you're listening to this and you're thinking, oh my God, this all actually makes sense. It's it's just logical. But I really don't know how to make this work around my roster. This is exactly what I help my clients do because every shift worker is different. A nurse working permanent nights has different challenges to a police officer on rotating shifts. And this is what I've learned. And a paramedic's roster looks different again. Fly in, fly out is different again. Even two people working the same roster can need completely different strategies because of what happens in their social and family life, their commute, their fitness goals, their health history, and their goals. They're all different. And that's why I don't believe in generic advice. And even if you follow me on social media and you listen to all of these podcasts, I want you to remember it's generic advice. Because I personally believe that what you need is the system that fits your life. And through my one-to-one coaching, we work together to create practical routines around your roster, improving your sleep, making daylight work for you at the right time, finding movement that feels achievable for you until you start to gain momentum. And then getting your nutrition to support your biology instead of working against it. And if you'd like to know what that could look like for you, do yourself a favor, head to the show notes, and in there you can book your free one-to-one coaching assessment call. This is a 15-minute call where you and I will have a chat. It will give me a much better understanding of where you're at, and I will show you literally how I can help you. We'll have a chat about where you're at, what's getting in the way, and then we'll work through how I can help you. I've had the privilege, privilege of helping hundreds of shift workers that have built healthier, more sustainable lives that I would love the opportunity to help you do the same. And it really is that simple. And this is the common response that I get all the time. So I want you to remember this. You were not designed to work against your biology. You were designed to work with it. And it doesn't have to be this way. I'll see you in the next episode.

Share The Message And Wrap Up

SPEAKER_00 17:23

If today's episode resonated with you, don't let the conversation stop here. Share it with a colleague, a manager, a friend, a leader, or someone who has the opportunity to improve the lives of people working in a 24-7 environment. Because real change starts with awareness. And awareness changes conversations, and conversations change organisations. And organizations change lives. So thank you for spending this time with me. And until next time, I want you to remember this. Take care of yourself and take care of each other.