Welcome to A Healthy Shift | The Shift Work Podcast, the podcast helping shift workers thrive while changing how organisations think about people working in 24/7 environments.
Hosted by Roger Sutherland, Australia's Night Shift & Sleep Specialist, this is where evidence meets lived experience.
After more than 40 years of working rotating shifts with Victoria Police, followed by years studying nutrition, circadian biology, chrononutrition, sleep, human performance and women's health, Roger is on a mission to challenge the belief that fatigue, poor sleep, burnout and declining health are simply part of working shifts.
Because they don't have to be.
Whether you're a nurse, paramedic, police officer, firefighter, doctor, aged care worker, manufacturing employee, FIFO worker, miner, pilot, flight attendant, truck driver, dispatcher, or anyone working outside the traditional 9-to-5, this podcast will give you practical, evidence-based strategies to help you sleep better, improve your energy, optimise your health and perform at your best.
If you're a leader, manager, People & Culture professional, WHS specialist, or responsible for leading a 24/7 workforce, you'll discover a different way of thinking about shift work—one that focuses on building shift work capability from within through education, leadership and practical systems that create healthier people, stronger teams and higher-performing organisations.
Each episode explores topics including:
• Shift work • Night shift • Sleep after night shift • Circadian rhythm • Fatigue management • Shift worker health • Nutrition for shift workers • Chrononutrition • Recovery and resilience • Women's health and shift work • Leadership in 24/7 organisations • Human performance • Workplace wellbeing • Fatigue risk management • Building healthier, safer and higher-performing workplaces
This isn't another podcast offering generic health tips.
It's a podcast about changing the future of shift work.
Because healthier people create stronger teams.
Stronger teams build better organisations.
And it all starts by understanding how to work with biology, not against it.
Why I Loved Shift Work After 40 Years | The Benefits Nobody Talks About
Shift work gets plenty of negative attention. Poor sleep, fatigue, disrupted routines and the challenges of working outside normal hours. But after more than 40 years working shifts with Victoria Police, there were things about shift work that I absolutely LOVED.
And I reckon we don't talk about them nearly enough.
In this episode of A Healthy Shift, I'm changing the conversation and sharing the positive side of shift work that often gets overlooked.
One of the biggest benefits for me was being able to do ME before my job got whatever was left.
Working afternoon shifts meant I could get to the gym, go swimming, enjoy an early walk in the daylight, organise appointments, prepare meals and get things done before heading to work.
I'd already looked after myself, and that made me happier to turn up to work.
I also loved the freedom of having weekdays off, avoiding the weekend crowds and not having to squeeze my entire life into Saturday and Sunday.
Of course, shift work comes with genuine health challenges. We can't ignore the effects of disrupted sleep, circadian rhythms and fatigue. But recognising those risks doesn't mean we can't appreciate the benefits.
In this episode, we explore:
Why afternoon shifts were one of my favourites.
The freedom of getting things done before starting work.
The benefits of having weekdays off.
Why putting yourself first can change how you feel about going to work.
How to make the most of your roster through sleep, daylight, movement and nutrient timing.
Why we need more positive conversations about shift work.
Whether you're a nurse, police officer, paramedic, emergency services worker, FIFO worker or anyone working a rotating roster, permanent nights or afternoon shifts, this episode offers a different perspective on shift work life.
After four decades of working shifts, I can tell you it wasn't all doom and gloom. There were some bloody good benefits too!
Now I'd love to hear from you.
What's YOUR favourite shift to work? Days, afternoons or nights? And why?
Hit the link "Text me what you thought of the show" and let me know
And if you know another shift worker who genuinely loves their roster, share this episode with them.
Roger Sutherland is Australia's Night Shift & Sleep Specialist and the founder of A Healthy Shift.
After more than 40 years working rotating shifts with Victoria Police, Roger now helps organisations reduce fatigue risk, improve staff wellbeing and build healthier, safer and higher-performing 24/7 workplaces through evidence-based education, circadian biology and the Shift Work Champions™ Framework.
Disclaimer: Roger Sutherland is not a doctor or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before implementing any strategies mentioned in this podcast. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Roger Sutherland will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of the information contained in this podcast, including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness, or death.
You know what? I reckon it's about time that we had a different conversation about shift work. Because, in fairness, everywhere you look, it's doom and gloom. And I know I've done a lot of content recently, particularly on social media, around the downsides of shift work and the impacts biologically that it has. Now, shift work is ruining your sleep. Shift work is bad for your health. Shift work is destroying your social life. And look, I'm not going to argue that the shift work doesn't come with some very, very real challenges. And after more than 40 years of working shifts, I know that better than most do. But here's something that I don't think we talk about nearly enough. There were things about shift work that I absolutely loved. And one of the biggest, I got to do me before my job got whatever was left. And I want you to think about that for a moment. Instead of giving shift work the best hours of my day, coming home exhausted, and then trying to squeeze in a bit of life into whatever energy I had left, I could flip that around. I could get up early, go to the gym, go swimming, get early daylight. I could make appointments and meal prep. I could get so much done before I even walked through the door at work. And the best part, I was happy. And when I was happy, I was happy to turn up to work. Now today I want to share some of the things that I genuinely loved about shift work. Because it wasn't all bad, and not by a long shot. And I reckon a few of you listening might just agree with me because it doesn't have to be this way.
For far too long, we've accepted fatigue, poor sleep, burnout, and declining health as simply part of working in a 24-7 environment. I don't believe they are. 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. 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 another episode of A Healthy Shift, the Shift Workers Podcast for decades. That's how long I did shift work in frontline policing for. Now, if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you'll know I have spent about 400 odd episodes of a bit of time talking about the challenges that come with working outside the normal daylight hours, sleep disruption, fatigue, eating at the wrong biological time, struggling to exercise, when to exercise, how to exercise, missing family events. And look, I want to be quite clear, they are all extremely important conversations to have because they all matter and they do. And when you are informed, you then understand. And they're exactly why I started a healthy shift in the very first place. But today I want to do something a little bit different. And I want to talk about what it was that I personally absolutely loved about Shift Work because I reckon there's a danger that we spend so much time talking about everything that's wrong with shift work that we do actually get to forget that there are some genuine benefits. And I experience plenty of them. And I think if we continually look through the negative lens, then that reticular activating system in our brain will only see the negative side of it. So let's turn it around a little bit for a while and let's talk about the fun stuff. Let's talk about what was epic about working shift work and what the benefits of it actually was to us. Because I did it for four decades. So I totally understand the downside, the good side, what I really got out of
it. And it's great. Now, one thing that I do want to talk about as a priority was I got to put myself first. Now, this one was the biggest one for me because I used to request to work. When I was in the canines, I worked 17 years at the dog squad, predominantly working Twilight and Night Shift. And while you could look at that and go, oh my God, there's no life, there's nothing in that at all. There was a lot of benefits of that as well. Like for argument's sake, my children never spent one hour in paid childcare. Not one, ever. Between uh the kid's mum and myself, we were always, one of us was always home. I was always able to work, I would get home, I'd get a couple of hours' sleep, I'd get up, take the kids to school, bring the kids home, I'd go back and have a nap, get up, go get the kids, bring the kids home, have dinner, then go back to work again. And that's literally how it went. So when you say, oh, it's hard, I know, I've done all of that, all of it. But the good thing that I loved was I went from there into communications as a supervisor, and I predominantly worked afternoon shifts. And there was a very good reason. When I was working afternoon shifts, I had the opportunity to get up in the morning and do the things that mattered to me. I got to put me first. I could get to the gym, I could go for a swim, I could head outside for a walk and get that early daylight. I could get appointments out of the way. Like, how good is it when you bring a uh a place like a dentist or a Cairo or a myotherapist or wherever it is that you've got to go, and you stroll in or you ring up to make an appointment, they say, Oh, I'm sorry, I've only really got 10 o'clock on Tuesday. And you go, Yeah, I'll take it. How good? Like, how good is that? You're filling up their calendar because it's convenient for you. And how good is it? Like, so much better. You know, and I could do all of this appointments, go to do some shopping, I could prepare my meals, and I could do all that before I then went into work. Now, let's compare that to the traditional nine to fiver, our day walking friends. You get up, you get ready, you drive to work, you sleep in as long as you possibly can until you absolutely have to get up. Then it's a flat panic to get yourself organized to get to work, commute to work, spend eight or nine hours there, drive home. And then we try to find the energy to do something good for ourselves. And for plenty of people, that energy just isn't there. And the gym gets pushed aside. Uh, the walk doesn't happen. You flop on the couch, scroll, scroll, dinner becomes whatever's easiest. No worries, I'm on my phone, I'll just order Uber. And before you know it, you're sitting on the couch wondering where on earth the day went. But on afternoon shift, I got to reverse that. I could get up, I could have breakfast, I could get outside, train, organise myself, and feel like I'd actually achieve something. And then I'd head off to work. Now, my employers still got me for the hours that they were paying me. I still did my eight hours, but they weren't necessarily getting the best part of my day. I'd already invested that in myself, and I love that. Now I know not every shift worker has that luxury. I accept that. If you've got young kids carrying responsibilities along commute, or you're coming off a run of night shifts, your day might look very different. Or you might be on a 12-hour day or a 12-hour night. I get it. But for me, having that opportunity to put myself first was a massive benefit. And it's something that I genuinely do miss. And the role was getting up, doing me, and then going to work and letting work have what was left of me instead of me trying to do what I needed to do with what was left of me after work had taken
it. Now, the other thing that I loved, and point two that I want to make, is the world was quieter when I was free. That's another thing that I loved. Having time off when everybody else was at work, and how good was that? You could go to the gym. How good is a gym at 10 o'clock in the morning? You don't have to wait for any equipment. I could go swimming without half the suburb sharing my lane. I had the lane to myself and I could get in, get out, and it's done. I could go shopping, I could park anywhere in the car park. I didn't have to drive around for 20 minutes looking for a car park. All right, now I spoke about the appointments. I could organize doctor's appointments, get to the dentist, go and get a blood test, or I could sort something out during the week without having to take time off work or away. Now, for people working Monday to Friday, so many of those things have to be squeezed into lunch breaks, after work, weekends. Hello, golfers. What's it like? And then everybody trying to do them all at the same time. And when you're a shift worker, depending on your roster, you can have access to a completely different world. A Tuesday morning at the shops, how good? A Wednesday afternoon, catching up with a friend for some coffee. Because they they're off, you're off. A quiet walk on a Thursday when the parks are almost empty. Now I love that freedom. And I reckon we sometimes underestimate just how valuable that time is. And a lot of this comes down to we are just literally crawling from one shift to the next. And let's talk about that towards the end. Now, it's not just about getting those chores done, it's about having some control over how you spend your time and having the control that can make a real difference to how you feel about your day.
Think about it. Now, I didn't have to live for the weekend, and this is another big point. The traditional working week is built Monday to Friday. Shift workers, nocturnals, we know that the weekend means nothing to us. But let's not go, oh yeah, it's another weekend and it means nothing. Let's look at it from the positive. Because for plenty of people, everything gets pushed into Saturday and Sunday. Shopping, cleaning, kids' activities, catching up with friends, exercise, family commitments. It's two days to do everything. And somewhere in there, you're supposed to relax and recover before Monday comes around again. And depending on my roster, I didn't even have to live that way. I could have a day off in the middle of the week. And sometimes that was bloody brilliant. There was something about waking up on a Wednesday knowing that I didn't have to go to work while most of the world was in their cars heading off to work. I could take my time, I could get outside, I could do something that I enjoyed, or do absolutely nothing if that's what I felt like. And I didn't have to feel guilty about it. Now, obviously, there is a trade-off. Sometimes I was working when everyone else was enjoying their weekend and I missed things. Birthdays, gatherings, social events, family events. And that's part of the reality of shift work. And I'm certainly not suggesting otherwise. But I also got opportunities that people working regular hours don't always have. And I looked through that lens and appreciated those. Now I could build my day around what mattered to me. Something that I've learned over the years is that having time available and using that time well are two very, very different things. And I reckon that's particularly important for the shift workers. You can have a whole morning available before afternoon shift. But honestly, if you spend that entire morning having a sleep in, lying in bed scrolling on your phone, sitting around and putting things off, suddenly it's midday, and oh my God, now I'm trying to get ready to go to work. And then you feel like you've wasted the opportunity. You have. And I've certainly had days like that. But when I'm organized, it was a completely different experience. I knew what I wanted to get done. I'd plan my exercise, I'd get outside, I'd have my meals organized, and I'd make sure that I'd left enough time to get ready for work without rushing. There's a big difference between cruising into work and getting organized and being ready than rushing in at the last minute. You start off wired already. Now, nothing particularly complicated, but it just worked. And I think there's something important in that for anyone working shifts. We often talk about managing our roster, but we also need to think about how we are managing the time around our roster. Because the time, that time, that is the critical time. And that is where our life actually happens. It's where we look after our health. It's where we spend time with the people who matter. It's where we do the things that we enjoy. And it's where we actually recover. And part of that recovery is doing the things that we enjoy. Not flopped on the couch trying to catch up and napping and sleeping and then getting ready to go in again. That's pointless. Now I'm not suggesting that every spare hour needs to be productive. Far from it. Sometimes the best thing that you can do is literally just chill out and rest. But having that opportunity to choose how you spend that time, now that's something that I valued enormously.
And here is the benefit, the big benefit of this. I was happier turning up to work and think about it. And this is probably the part that I want you personally to think about the most. Because when I had a good morning, I'd done my exercise, I got the daylight, I'd been for a walk, I'd eaten well and sorted out the things that I needed to do, I felt great. I felt like I'd achieved something. I wasn't walking into work thinking about all the things I hadn't done. I wasn't frustrated because I'd missed a training session or had to put another appointment off because I was working. I'd already done that. I'd already looked after me. And that made a big difference to how I felt when I arrived at work. I was happier. And because I was happier, I was happier to turn up. Now that doesn't mean that every shift was enjoyable. I spent more than 40 years in Victoria Plus, but there were plenty of difficult shifts, long hours, stressful situations, and time when work took far more out of me than I would have liked. And there were certainly periods when the roster made looking after myself incredibly difficult. But that doesn't take away from the times when shift work actually worked in my favor. And I think we need to be able to acknowledge both sides of this because the conversation about shift work doesn't have to be entirely negative.
We can recognize the health risks, we can talk about circadian disruption, fatigue, and poor sleep, and we can push employers to provide better education and support for their staff. But at the same time, we can acknowledge that some people genuinely enjoy working shifts, and those two things are not mutually exclusive. It's about finding out what works for you. One thing that I've learned is that there isn't one perfect shift for everyone. Some people absolutely love morning shifts. They like getting up early, getting their work done, and then having the afternoon free. Others love afternoon shifts. They enjoy having the morning to themselves, getting things done and heading to work later. And some people genuinely prefer nights. They might enjoy the quieter environment, the different pace, or the way their roster fits around their life. Now, from a circadian biology perspective, working through the biological night presents real challenges. And we cannot ignore that. And personal preference doesn't remove these biological effects. But it also doesn't mean that we should dismiss somebody's experience when they tell us they enjoy their roster. And I think that that's an important distinction. The goal should not be to convince every shift worker that their life is terrible. The goal should be to help them to understand what their roster is doing to their body, give them practical ways to manage it, and help them to make the most of the opportunities that are available. And that is what a healthy shift has always been about. Remember, a healthy shift. Moving you from a poor place to a good one or having a shift in a healthy way. And it's why I keep coming back to the same four areas sleep, daylight, movement, and nutrient timing. Because not because every shift worker needs some perfect routine. We all know that's impossible. But because understanding those four things can help you make a lot better decisions around whatever roster you're working. And if you low afternoon shift, fantastic. How can you use your morning to support your health and well-being? If you work early mornings, how can you protect your sleep and make the most of the daylight available after work? If you're on nights, how can you manage your light exposure, food timing, movement, and recovery as well as possible? And if you're rotating between all three of those, well, that's where having a practical plan for each shift becomes even more important. It's not about making the shift perfect, it's about making it work much better for you. Okay, we need more positive shift work stories.
And I want to finish today's conversation with something that I've been thinking about. We hear so many stories about how hard shift work is, and many of those stories are completely justified. But I wonder how often we ask people what they actually enjoy about it. What opportunities has shift work given you? What have you been able to do because of your roster that you might not have been able to do working the traditional nine to five? Now, maybe you've been able to spend more time with your kids at different times. Maybe you've been able to study something. Maybe you've had the flexibility to train for a sporting event. Maybe you've been able to help care for a family member. Or maybe, like me, you just love being able to go to the gym, go for a swim when it's quiet. Whatever it is, I reckon those stories deserve to be heard too. Because if we ever talk about, if all we ever talk about is the negative side of shift work, what we do is we totally run the risk of overlooking the things that you genuinely value. And I don't think that's particularly helpful. We can have an evidence-based conversation about the risks, but we need to not turn every discussion into doom and gloom. And I admit I've been guilty of that. We can acknowledge the challenges without ignoring the benefits, and we can also help people build healthier lives around their rosters without telling them that they should hate the work that they do. And after more than 40 years of working shifts, I can tell you there are plenty of things that I did not enjoy, but there were a lot of things that I really loved. And being able to do me before my job got what was left, that was right up there at the very top. Now I'd really love to hear from you on this one. And if you go into the show notes, you can actually text me what you thought of the show. What shift do you prefer working? Days, afternoons, nights, and more importantly, why? What is it about the shift that works for you? Is it the freedom? The time with family, being able to exercise, having weekdays off, or is it something that I haven't even thought of, something completely different? So if you do, go over and have a look at the Healthy Shift Instagram page. You'll see there's some posts there in relation to it. Find the post for this episode and tell me in the comments. Because I want to start sharing more of the positive stuff around shift work, because I think that's what you need. I know I've made the error. It's been doom and gloom for a long time, or it's been all about the corporate side. Let's make it about the positives for a while. So if you know another shift worker who genuinely enjoys their roster, do me a favor, send them this episode. If someone said to you, oh, the podcast is so negative, send them this one to turn them around. Because I would love to hear their perspective as well. We spend enough time talking about what makes shift work difficult. Let's give some attention to what makes it worthwhile. And until next time, I want you to look after yourself and be positive. Have yourself a healthy shift.
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 organisations change lives. So thank you for spending this time with me. And until next time, I want you to remember this. It doesn't have to be this way. Take care of yourself and take care of each other.
![[420] - Why I Loved Shift Work After 40 Years | The Benefits Nobody Talks About Artwork](https://www.podcast.ahealthyshift.com/rails/active_storage/representations/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MTc5Njc1Mjk4LCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--4e7045ac7c3f86c60c03e8aca86c10a4e660d013/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6eyJmb3JtYXQiOiJqcGciLCJyZXNpemVfdG9fZmlsbCI6WzYwMCw2MDAseyJjcm9wIjoiY2VudHJlIn1dLCJzYXZlciI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2MH0sImNvbG91cnNwYWNlIjoic3JnYiJ9LCJwdXIiOiJ2YXJpYXRpb24ifX0=--0b154cb6b88107719b1a277923d35676ba5519cc/Podcast%20Cover%20-%20July%202026.png)