July 20, 2025 • 26 mins
Text me what you thought of the show 😊
In this episode, I share my top 10 must-read books that have reshaped how I approach health, habits, sleep, and shift work. With nearly 40 years in law enforcement and coaching others through 24/7 schedules, I’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to thriving as a shift worker.
These books offer evidence-based, practical insights that can truly improve your energy, sleep, mindset, and overall wellbeing.
My Recommended Reads:
- Atomic Habits – Build better systems for lasting habits
- Lifespan – Understand your internal body clock
- The Light Doctor – How lighting affects sleep and hunger
- Breath – The power of proper breathing
- The Inner Clock – Circadian rhythms and mental health
- Sleep Groove – A visual guide to better sleep
- The Resilience Project – Gratitude, empathy, mindfulness
- Let Go – Releasing control to improve mental health
- Is Butter a Carb? – Nutrition without diet culture
- Everything Fat Loss – Honest advice on weight management
If you're navigating night shifts or long hours, these reads can make a real difference.
Enjoyed the episode?
 Share it, leave a review, and follow the show so you never miss what’s next.
There’s no perfect shift—but we can make it a healthier one, together.
----------------------------
ANNOUNCING
"The Shift Workers Collective"
https://join.ahealthyshift.com/the-shift-workers-collective
Click the link to learn all about it
-----------------------------
YOU CAN FIND ME AT
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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.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
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 24-7shift worker for almost four
decades.
Through this podcast, I aim toeducate shift workers using
evidence-based methods to notonly survive the rigours of
(00:28):
shift work, but thrive.
My goal is to empower shiftworkers to improve their health
and wellbeing so they have moreenergy to do the things they
love.
Enjoy today's show and welcomeback to a Healthy Shift Podcast.
I'm your host, roger Sutherland, a veteran shift worker,
(00:50):
nutritionist, a coach andsomeone who's always on the
lookout for ways to help you,the shift worker, to manage the
challenges of your 24-7 work.
Today, I want to share somethingjust a little bit different.
Anybody that follows me onsocial media will know that
behind me in my videos, I have abookshelf full of books.
(01:12):
But what would be my top 10absolute must-read books for
someone who wanted to learnabout themselves, and also
particularly in a shift workingworld?
Now I want to make this onequite clear.
This is not just for shiftworkers.
This one here is for anybodythat wants to actually learn
(01:34):
about themselves orself-improvement.
These are the books that havehad a massive and I mean massive
impact on me, both personallyand also professionally, and
ones that I believe that you canreally benefit from in some way
.
I'm not going to babble on, I'mgoing to keep it short, and I'm
(01:56):
going to keep it sharp, andI'll explain to you why each one
made the list.
Now let's start with my numberone book that, if you haven't
read, you must read.
I don't care who you are inlife today, you will learn
something from my number onebook, which is Atomic Habits by
James Clear.
This one is a total and utter,absolute no-brainer.
(02:20):
It's all about how making smallchanges consistently will lead
to big results.
Now, I've seen this in shiftwork time and time again in my
coaching in people that I speakto.
One of the biggest problemsthat people have is they say, oh
, I can't do this or I can't dothat.
(02:40):
And it's never the habit thatfails.
What it is, it's the processthat you put in place to execute
the habit.
Have a think about that.
It's not the habit that fails,it's the process that you put in
place to execute it.
Now I've employed some reallysimple strategies out of this
book that have made an enormousdifference and even at the
(03:03):
moment in our Shift WorkersCollective we're running a 1%
Better Me Challenge, and it'sall about putting little habits
in place and then actually justcontinually layering them up
like an onion to actuallycontinually get better and
better until they become part oflife.
And this is a theory that I gotfrom Atomic Habits and it's
(03:24):
really good.
You just need to build thehabits that stick, even when
you're tired or you are workingnights, and this book will give
you the tools to do that.
So number one, and always willbe number one, is Atomic Habits
by James Clear.
My second favorite book of alltime is a book that I highly
(03:47):
highly recommend that you listento as an audio book, and the
book's title is Lifetime andit's by Professor Russell Foster
.
I found this book incrediblyengaging because Russell Foster
talks.
If you wanted to listen toRussell Foster speak, just get
on Spotify and do a search forProfessor Russell Foster and
(04:13):
hear him speak.
It's like your grandfathertelling you a story.
Now, russell Foster is actuallya neuroscientist who breaks
down how our body clocks work.
Now this is where I learn andhave learned an awful lot and
what happens to our bodies whenwe actually fight them.
Hello shift workers.
Does this sound familiar?
(04:34):
What happens when we fight themis we live out of sync with the
natural rhythm of the body, sounderstanding circadian biology
is really crucial.
Now, this book is science heavy, but it is so easy to listen to
because of the way ProfessorFoster actually talks and tells
(04:54):
the stories about it.
You'll find it an incrediblyeasy listen, but I highly
recommend it.
It helped me explain a lot ofthe why behind sleep and
alertness, long-term health,reproduction, everything.
It is a fascinating book.
It is my absolute number twofavorite book and I would highly
(05:18):
recommend that you get hold ofthat.
So that's Lifetime by ProfessorRussell Foster.
Number three is a book by a manI've interviewed twice on the
podcast, who just absolutelyblows me away whenever I speak
to him and the more I read aboutwhat he puts on his sub stack
and the blogs he puts out, andthat is the Light Doctor by Dr
(05:41):
Martin Moore Ede, and it's afantastic book.
Highly recommend that you readit.
It is written not forscientists.
It's not written as scienceheavy, because scientists
already know all of this stuff.
This is written for you, theconsumer, to actually just
digest and completely understand.
(06:03):
Now, dr Martin Moore Eed wasahead of his time when it comes
to the light and circadianrhythms.
I can tell you that Dr MartinMoorheed and his team were the
ones that discovered thesuprachiasmatic nucleus in the
human and from there and that'sthe body's master clock, and
from there he was one of thefirst to connect artificial
(06:24):
lighting to actual sleepdisruption and the decline in
human health.
And it's got, I think,approximately 240 odd references
in the back of the book.
Not that they're important, butif you really wanted to geek
out, you can go and have a readof all of those in the back of
the book.
But what I love is how he shows.
(06:46):
The light isn't just somethingthat we see, it is literally
something that programs us everysingle day.
Now, if you're on nights orearly mornings, this book will
help you to understand literallyhow to get your light diet
right, how light impacts yourbiology, it impacts on your
health, it impacts on yourhunger and it will teach you
(07:08):
what there is that you canactually do about it.
That's book number three, theLight Doctor, by Dr Martin
Moreed, and that would literallyslide into third place for me
anyway.
The next one is one that I alsosuggest that you listen to as an
audio book, and it's the bookBreath by James Nestor.
(07:29):
You would think that somethingthat we all do every single day,
that we take for granted.
You would think that we all getit right, but we actually all
get it wrong.
Now this one really changed howI think about something that we
do take for granted, and thatis breathing.
Now James Nesta really digsinto how most of us are
(07:51):
breathing the wrong way and howthat affects our energy, our
sleep, our stress and even ourdigestion.
Now I've applied a lot of thesimple techniques in this book
myself, especially around nasalbreathing, and it's made a
noticeable difference in my ownpersonal life, in recovery and
(08:15):
stress.
It's amazing how, when youlearn to breathe properly or you
learn strategies around how tobreathe in particular situations
, when you practice this, youcan then fall back on it at
times of stress or when you areactually struggling.
That's Breath by James Nestor,excellent book.
(08:36):
Highly recommend that.
If you're on Spotify, you canalso search for James Nestor and
listen to some of the podcastshe's on.
He will hold you riveted as tohow we go about breathing and in
this book, breath, he actuallynarrates the book himself and
then his colleague runs youthrough a whole series of
(08:58):
breathwork practices at the endof the book and it's really
really good to follow that way.
Much easier to listen tosomeone talking you through it
than it is to actually try andfollow it and do it at the same
time.
Right, that's book number four,breath by James Nestor.
Book number five is a book Irecently read someone who I'm
going to get onto the podcast,and that is Lynn Peebles, and
(09:20):
she has written the book theInner Clock.
Wow, my goodness me.
Now, this one here is not asscience-y as Lifetime by
Professor Russell Foster.
It covers much the sameprinciples, but in a much easier
way that we can digest it.
This book gives us a greatoverview of our actual internal
(09:43):
biological clock and how itactually affects everything from
our sleep to our metabolism, toour mental health and how, once
it starts to go out of sync,all of these things start to
really decline.
Now, it's not as technical asRussell Foster's lifetime, but
it is all still very, veryevidence-based and backed by
(10:04):
research.
I really do recommend this bookto anyone new to the concept of
circadian rhythms maybe even areally good place to start and
it's narrated extremely well,not by Lynn herself, but it's
narrated by someone who reallyexplains it really well.
Now, this book is good,especially for shift workers,
(10:27):
who are just starting to learnwhy their body is fighting them
at certain times of the day.
I highly recommend this book.
I'm looking forward to gettingLynn onto the podcast.
She has agreed and I need tomake that happen, because it is
a really good book and sheconducts an experiment on
herself in a bunker, which isjust great.
It's a great listen.
I listen to this book as well.
(10:49):
Highly recommended into numberfive for me, the book number six
very, very similar thread aswell, by a person who I'm proud
to call a friend, and that's DrOlivia Walsh and her book, which
is called Sleep Groove.
Now, this one here is reallylighthearted and it's very
visual as well, and that's why Ireally love this book.
(11:11):
Now, I did a review on this onmy Instagram.
Dr Walsh is a sleep researcherand she uses cartoons and very
simple theories to explain very,very complex ideas, which gives
you a really good insight intowhat it is that she's trying to
explain.
Now, this is a great startingpoint for people who find sleep
(11:34):
science very intimidating,because it is, and I often
recommend this book to clientsbecause it helps to break down
really tricky concepts into afun and very, very digestible
way.
If you are someone whostruggles with sleep, one of the
things that we've got to learnis it's not about reaching for
what medication helps for sleep.
It's about understanding whyall of these things go out and
(11:59):
what it is that causes theproblems, and when we work on
those, it actually rectifies oursleep issues.
Sleep Groove by Dr Olivia Walshanother excellent read.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I listened to that as well.
It's not narrated by Olivia,but it's narrated by someone,
because I've spoken to Olivia Icould not tell you how often and
(12:21):
this book is actually narratedby someone who, well, it could
be her twin sister.
It's really narrated very, verywell.
So, number five, the InnerClock, and number six, the Sleep
Groove very, very similar books, excellent books, highly
recommended.
They're my ones that aretalking about habits and
(12:44):
circadian rhythms and light andthe impacts and all of those
things.
What I want to talk about now isa book that had a massive
impact on me, and I mean areally, really big impact.
It's a book that wasrecommended to me by someone
many, many years ago when I wasreally struggling and I thought,
oh no, it doesn't sound verygood.
And the book is called theResilience Project and it's by
(13:07):
Hugh van Kylenburg.
Now this book hits really deep,believe it or not.
I listened to this book as well, because I think Hugh Van
Kylenburg is an excellentstoryteller and I think having
him actually narrating his ownbook gives another depth,
another level to a book that youreally really need to read.
(13:30):
Hugh shares stories of his workwith kids in tough situations
and it talks about the threeprinciples what I call the GEM
principles, which is gratitude,empathy and mindfulness and how
implementing those into yourlife can literally change lives
itself.
Now, I really related to thison a personal level after four
(13:54):
decades in frontline policingand what happened to me towards
the end.
It made me look at the thingsthat I was grateful for and
mindful practice to keep megoing and keep me stepping
forward.
It is an excellent book.
It is really really wellnarrated by Hugh, highly
recommended, and I would suggestthat if you are a shift worker
(14:18):
that is constantly underpressure and constantly stressed
even though you might notrealize that you're stressed but
it's a book that I would highlyrecommend that you listen to
and actually learn andunderstand the principles, the
GEM principles, which isgratitude, empathy and
mindfulness, it will make such adifference.
(14:38):
It really is such an excellentbook.
That's number seven.
It's called the ResilienceProject and it's by Hugh
VanColemberg.
Number eight no secret slips inthere is Hugh van Kolenberg's
second book, which is called LetGo.
Now, this was a follow-up bookto the Resilience Project.
It's a lot more raw and very,very personal.
(15:01):
The book was written out of thediary that he created as he was
going through his own therapysessions, coming out of COVID
and how he was battling withthat.
He talks about his ownstruggles and the actual
importance of letting go ofcontrolling your life and
(15:22):
letting go of perfection.
I found this book incrediblypowerful and one that really hit
me hard, especially as a coach,because we often are pushing
ourselves far too hard, thinkingthat we need to have it all
together all the time and we'vegot to be that person, but
sometimes stepping back and justletting go is where real growth
(15:43):
happens.
This is where I learned fromthe book Let Go by Hugh Van
Kylenburg, and that's my numbereight book.
It is brilliant.
So there you go.
Seven and eight by Hugh VanKylenburg.
He's got two in my top 10.
Well, well-deserved Number nine.
Really interesting title.
I wasn't sure about this onehere because I've seen plenty of
(16:06):
nutrition books around theplace, but I decided I'd give
this one a crack because of howhighly rated it is.
The book is called Is Butter aCarb and the book is by Rosie
Saund and Helen West.
Now I read this and as I wasreading it, I got my
highlighting texture out and Igot my pencil out.
(16:26):
I was ringing and I washighlighting and I was
underlining and I was goingthrough and I thought, my God,
this is such a good book Forpeople who know nothing about
nutrition with all of themisinformation that is out there
in the world today.
I think everybody should read.
Is butter a carb?
(16:47):
Now, we all know butter's not acarb, it's a fat, isn't it
Right?
And if you didn't know that,you now know.
But if you've ever been confusedby nutrition myths, then this
book actually clears them all up, with humor and a little bit of
science sprinkled in as well.
It's all science back, but it'sdone with humor.
It is very clever and it is areally good book to read.
(17:08):
It's actually written by tworegistered dietitians.
It is a super, super easy readand I love how they tackle the
questions that I hear all thetime from shift workers carbs,
fats, detoxes, metabolism.
Anyway, I won't ruin it.
It's all fact-based and it'sfree from the usual diet culture
(17:30):
nonsense.
It's not selling anything otherthan just the theories of
what's absolute rubbish in thenutrition world and it will give
you a much better understandingand I guarantee I guarantee
that you'll have many oh what oraha moments as you go through
this book.
So number nine is Butter a Carby Rosie Saund and Helen West.
(17:53):
My tenth and last book, butabsolutely not least, is another
one.
Every single client that comesto me, every single person and
everything that's out there isall about fat loss, everything.
Everyone's overweight, everyonewants to lose fat, they all
want to look a certain way andbe a certain way.
A person that I followed onsocial media for the best part
(18:18):
of seven, maybe eight, years isBen Carpenter, and Ben's book
Everything Fat Loss isabsolutely brilliant and he's
done an incredible job ofactually taking all of the noise
out of fat loss advice.
Now this book is completelyevidence-based.
It's honest.
It's refreshingly free from anyhype, which is about he's not
(18:43):
trying to sell anything.
He's not selling you thatyou've got to go carnivore or
you've got to go vegetarian,you've got to go vegan, and
here's my supplements thatyou've got to take.
And what I appreciated most inthis book, and also about Ben,
is that he explains why fat lossis hard, but how should we
approach it with the rightmindset.
It's one that I often recommendto shift workers who want
(19:06):
results but are actuallyoverwhelmed by conflicting
advice.
Ben, it's a good, it's a greatbook and Ben's done a fantastic
job with it.
And he's actually followed itup with another book as well
Hang on which is called Fat LossHabits.
Sorry about that.
(19:27):
I had to turn around and have alook, but it's right next to it
on the bookcase.
Everything Fat Loss by BenCarpenter rounds it out as
number 10.
I could go on and on with anumber of good books, but those
10 are 10 books that I highlyrecommend every single person
reads, and I mean every singleperson.
You will understand yourcircadian rhythm.
(19:49):
You will understand theimportance of maintaining and
lining up your circadian rhythm.
The light doctor will help youto understand why you need to be
very careful with your light.
Diet around.
That Breath teaches you how tobreathe into stressful
situations and not.
We understand about sleep.
We understand about our innerclock.
(20:10):
And then Hugh Van Collenburgteaches us about the gratitude,
empathy and mindfulness, andalso about letting go of not
being perfect all the time.
And then we've got a couple ofnutrition books that will
actually just break things downand help you with them.
Fantastic Top 10.
Really good books that I wouldhighly recommend.
(20:31):
So there you have it Now.
That's 10 books that havereally helped to shape the way
that I think, the way I coachand the way I live myself.
That's improved me out of sight, considering the mental health
challenges that I've had myself.
So, whether you're trying tosleep better, eat smarter or
just understand your body alittle bit more because the more
(20:55):
you understand, the more youcan actually help yourself with
it these books, these 10 books,will make a difference.
Now, if you've read any ofthese or you'd plan to, I'd
absolutely love to hear yourthoughts on that.
So what you can do is you canactually go into the show notes
and there's a spot there, a linkthat you can go into and you
(21:15):
can message me.
It's quite simple.
Or you can leave, like a review, a rating as to the books and
give us a comment on what youfound, or if you found any of
these titles highly beneficial,share this episode with your
colleagues or even share it ontosocial media.
If you got any of these titleshighly beneficial, share this
episode with your colleagues oreven share it onto social media.
If you got anything out of it,and if you haven't already, make
(21:36):
sure you hit follow on theplatform that you're on and turn
on your notifications so younever miss any episode.
And hey, if you enjoyed thepodcast and you've been really
slack on this lately and Ireally beg you, we're almost at
the end of this one a ratingreally helps.
You've got no idea how muchjust leaving a rating or a
(21:57):
review helps the podcast to getevidence-based information out
there and those 10 books, thoseauthors will love me forever for
that, but they, honestly, theycompletely deserve it All right.
So there you go.
So I just want to say to youthank you so much for listening
and remember there's no suchthing as a perfect shift, but
(22:18):
what you can do is you canliterally make it a healthy one.
So share it with everybody, getthe evidence-based information
out there and don't forget, goand give us a rating and review,
please.
I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you for listening.
(22:40):
If you enjoyed this episode, besure to subscribe so you get
notified whenever a new episodeis released.
It would also be ever sohelpful if you could leave a
rating and review on the appyou're currently listening on.
If you want to know more aboutme or work with me, you can go
to ahealthyshiftcom.
I'll catch you on the next one.
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 24-7shift worker for almost four
decades.
Through this podcast, I aim toeducate shift workers using
evidence-based methods to notonly survive the rigours of
(00:28):
shift work, but thrive.
My goal is to empower shiftworkers to improve their health
and wellbeing so they have moreenergy to do the things they
love.
Enjoy today's show and welcomeback to a Healthy Shift Podcast.
I'm your host, roger Sutherland, a veteran shift worker,
(00:50):
nutritionist, a coach andsomeone who's always on the
lookout for ways to help you,the shift worker, to manage the
challenges of your 24-7 work.
Today, I want to share somethingjust a little bit different.
Anybody that follows me onsocial media will know that
behind me in my videos, I have abookshelf full of books.
(01:12):
But what would be my top 10absolute must-read books for
someone who wanted to learnabout themselves, and also
particularly in a shift workingworld?
Now I want to make this onequite clear.
This is not just for shiftworkers.
This one here is for anybodythat wants to actually learn
(01:34):
about themselves orself-improvement.
These are the books that havehad a massive and I mean massive
impact on me, both personallyand also professionally, and
ones that I believe that you canreally benefit from in some way
.
I'm not going to babble on, I'mgoing to keep it short, and I'm
(01:56):
going to keep it sharp, andI'll explain to you why each one
made the list.
Now let's start with my numberone book that, if you haven't
read, you must read.
I don't care who you are inlife today, you will learn
something from my number onebook, which is Atomic Habits by
James Clear.
This one is a total and utter,absolute no-brainer.
(02:20):
It's all about how making smallchanges consistently will lead
to big results.
Now, I've seen this in shiftwork time and time again in my
coaching in people that I speakto.
One of the biggest problemsthat people have is they say, oh
, I can't do this or I can't dothat.
(02:40):
And it's never the habit thatfails.
What it is, it's the processthat you put in place to execute
the habit.
Have a think about that.
It's not the habit that fails,it's the process that you put in
place to execute it.
Now I've employed some reallysimple strategies out of this
book that have made an enormousdifference and even at the
(03:03):
moment in our Shift WorkersCollective we're running a 1%
Better Me Challenge, and it'sall about putting little habits
in place and then actually justcontinually layering them up
like an onion to actuallycontinually get better and
better until they become part oflife.
And this is a theory that I gotfrom Atomic Habits and it's
(03:24):
really good.
You just need to build thehabits that stick, even when
you're tired or you are workingnights, and this book will give
you the tools to do that.
So number one, and always willbe number one, is Atomic Habits
by James Clear.
My second favorite book of alltime is a book that I highly
(03:47):
highly recommend that you listento as an audio book, and the
book's title is Lifetime andit's by Professor Russell Foster
.
I found this book incrediblyengaging because Russell Foster
talks.
If you wanted to listen toRussell Foster speak, just get
on Spotify and do a search forProfessor Russell Foster and
(04:13):
hear him speak.
It's like your grandfathertelling you a story.
Now, russell Foster is actuallya neuroscientist who breaks
down how our body clocks work.
Now this is where I learn andhave learned an awful lot and
what happens to our bodies whenwe actually fight them.
Hello shift workers.
Does this sound familiar?
(04:34):
What happens when we fight themis we live out of sync with the
natural rhythm of the body, sounderstanding circadian biology
is really crucial.
Now, this book is science heavy, but it is so easy to listen to
because of the way ProfessorFoster actually talks and tells
(04:54):
the stories about it.
You'll find it an incrediblyeasy listen, but I highly
recommend it.
It helped me explain a lot ofthe why behind sleep and
alertness, long-term health,reproduction, everything.
It is a fascinating book.
It is my absolute number twofavorite book and I would highly
(05:18):
recommend that you get hold ofthat.
So that's Lifetime by ProfessorRussell Foster.
Number three is a book by a manI've interviewed twice on the
podcast, who just absolutelyblows me away whenever I speak
to him and the more I read aboutwhat he puts on his sub stack
and the blogs he puts out, andthat is the Light Doctor by Dr
(05:41):
Martin Moore Ede, and it's afantastic book.
Highly recommend that you readit.
It is written not forscientists.
It's not written as scienceheavy, because scientists
already know all of this stuff.
This is written for you, theconsumer, to actually just
digest and completely understand.
(06:03):
Now, dr Martin Moore Eed wasahead of his time when it comes
to the light and circadianrhythms.
I can tell you that Dr MartinMoorheed and his team were the
ones that discovered thesuprachiasmatic nucleus in the
human and from there and that'sthe body's master clock, and
from there he was one of thefirst to connect artificial
(06:24):
lighting to actual sleepdisruption and the decline in
human health.
And it's got, I think,approximately 240 odd references
in the back of the book.
Not that they're important, butif you really wanted to geek
out, you can go and have a readof all of those in the back of
the book.
But what I love is how he shows.
(06:46):
The light isn't just somethingthat we see, it is literally
something that programs us everysingle day.
Now, if you're on nights orearly mornings, this book will
help you to understand literallyhow to get your light diet
right, how light impacts yourbiology, it impacts on your
health, it impacts on yourhunger and it will teach you
(07:08):
what there is that you canactually do about it.
That's book number three, theLight Doctor, by Dr Martin
Moreed, and that would literallyslide into third place for me
anyway.
The next one is one that I alsosuggest that you listen to as an
audio book, and it's the bookBreath by James Nestor.
(07:29):
You would think that somethingthat we all do every single day,
that we take for granted.
You would think that we all getit right, but we actually all
get it wrong.
Now this one really changed howI think about something that we
do take for granted, and thatis breathing.
Now James Nesta really digsinto how most of us are
(07:51):
breathing the wrong way and howthat affects our energy, our
sleep, our stress and even ourdigestion.
Now I've applied a lot of thesimple techniques in this book
myself, especially around nasalbreathing, and it's made a
noticeable difference in my ownpersonal life, in recovery and
(08:15):
stress.
It's amazing how, when youlearn to breathe properly or you
learn strategies around how tobreathe in particular situations
, when you practice this, youcan then fall back on it at
times of stress or when you areactually struggling.
That's Breath by James Nestor,excellent book.
(08:36):
Highly recommend that.
If you're on Spotify, you canalso search for James Nestor and
listen to some of the podcastshe's on.
He will hold you riveted as tohow we go about breathing and in
this book, breath, he actuallynarrates the book himself and
then his colleague runs youthrough a whole series of
(08:58):
breathwork practices at the endof the book and it's really
really good to follow that way.
Much easier to listen tosomeone talking you through it
than it is to actually try andfollow it and do it at the same
time.
Right, that's book number four,breath by James Nestor.
Book number five is a book Irecently read someone who I'm
going to get onto the podcast,and that is Lynn Peebles, and
(09:20):
she has written the book theInner Clock.
Wow, my goodness me.
Now, this one here is not asscience-y as Lifetime by
Professor Russell Foster.
It covers much the sameprinciples, but in a much easier
way that we can digest it.
This book gives us a greatoverview of our actual internal
(09:43):
biological clock and how itactually affects everything from
our sleep to our metabolism, toour mental health and how, once
it starts to go out of sync,all of these things start to
really decline.
Now, it's not as technical asRussell Foster's lifetime, but
it is all still very, veryevidence-based and backed by
(10:04):
research.
I really do recommend this bookto anyone new to the concept of
circadian rhythms maybe even areally good place to start and
it's narrated extremely well,not by Lynn herself, but it's
narrated by someone who reallyexplains it really well.
Now, this book is good,especially for shift workers,
(10:27):
who are just starting to learnwhy their body is fighting them
at certain times of the day.
I highly recommend this book.
I'm looking forward to gettingLynn onto the podcast.
She has agreed and I need tomake that happen, because it is
a really good book and sheconducts an experiment on
herself in a bunker, which isjust great.
It's a great listen.
I listen to this book as well.
(10:49):
Highly recommended into numberfive for me, the book number six
very, very similar thread aswell, by a person who I'm proud
to call a friend, and that's DrOlivia Walsh and her book, which
is called Sleep Groove.
Now, this one here is reallylighthearted and it's very
visual as well, and that's why Ireally love this book.
(11:11):
Now, I did a review on this onmy Instagram.
Dr Walsh is a sleep researcherand she uses cartoons and very
simple theories to explain very,very complex ideas, which gives
you a really good insight intowhat it is that she's trying to
explain.
Now, this is a great startingpoint for people who find sleep
(11:34):
science very intimidating,because it is, and I often
recommend this book to clientsbecause it helps to break down
really tricky concepts into afun and very, very digestible
way.
If you are someone whostruggles with sleep, one of the
things that we've got to learnis it's not about reaching for
what medication helps for sleep.
It's about understanding whyall of these things go out and
(11:59):
what it is that causes theproblems, and when we work on
those, it actually rectifies oursleep issues.
Sleep Groove by Dr Olivia Walshanother excellent read.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I listened to that as well.
It's not narrated by Olivia,but it's narrated by someone,
because I've spoken to Olivia Icould not tell you how often and
(12:21):
this book is actually narratedby someone who, well, it could
be her twin sister.
It's really narrated very, verywell.
So, number five, the InnerClock, and number six, the Sleep
Groove very, very similar books, excellent books, highly
recommended.
They're my ones that aretalking about habits and
(12:44):
circadian rhythms and light andthe impacts and all of those
things.
What I want to talk about now isa book that had a massive
impact on me, and I mean areally, really big impact.
It's a book that wasrecommended to me by someone
many, many years ago when I wasreally struggling and I thought,
oh no, it doesn't sound verygood.
And the book is called theResilience Project and it's by
(13:07):
Hugh van Kylenburg.
Now this book hits really deep,believe it or not.
I listened to this book as well, because I think Hugh Van
Kylenburg is an excellentstoryteller and I think having
him actually narrating his ownbook gives another depth,
another level to a book that youreally really need to read.
(13:30):
Hugh shares stories of his workwith kids in tough situations
and it talks about the threeprinciples what I call the GEM
principles, which is gratitude,empathy and mindfulness and how
implementing those into yourlife can literally change lives
itself.
Now, I really related to thison a personal level after four
(13:54):
decades in frontline policingand what happened to me towards
the end.
It made me look at the thingsthat I was grateful for and
mindful practice to keep megoing and keep me stepping
forward.
It is an excellent book.
It is really really wellnarrated by Hugh, highly
recommended, and I would suggestthat if you are a shift worker
(14:18):
that is constantly underpressure and constantly stressed
even though you might notrealize that you're stressed but
it's a book that I would highlyrecommend that you listen to
and actually learn andunderstand the principles, the
GEM principles, which isgratitude, empathy and
mindfulness, it will make such adifference.
(14:38):
It really is such an excellentbook.
That's number seven.
It's called the ResilienceProject and it's by Hugh
VanColemberg.
Number eight no secret slips inthere is Hugh van Kolenberg's
second book, which is called LetGo.
Now, this was a follow-up bookto the Resilience Project.
It's a lot more raw and very,very personal.
(15:01):
The book was written out of thediary that he created as he was
going through his own therapysessions, coming out of COVID
and how he was battling withthat.
He talks about his ownstruggles and the actual
importance of letting go ofcontrolling your life and
(15:22):
letting go of perfection.
I found this book incrediblypowerful and one that really hit
me hard, especially as a coach,because we often are pushing
ourselves far too hard, thinkingthat we need to have it all
together all the time and we'vegot to be that person, but
sometimes stepping back and justletting go is where real growth
(15:43):
happens.
This is where I learned fromthe book Let Go by Hugh Van
Kylenburg, and that's my numbereight book.
It is brilliant.
So there you go.
Seven and eight by Hugh VanKylenburg.
He's got two in my top 10.
Well, well-deserved Number nine.
Really interesting title.
I wasn't sure about this onehere because I've seen plenty of
(16:06):
nutrition books around theplace, but I decided I'd give
this one a crack because of howhighly rated it is.
The book is called Is Butter aCarb and the book is by Rosie
Saund and Helen West.
Now I read this and as I wasreading it, I got my
highlighting texture out and Igot my pencil out.
(16:26):
I was ringing and I washighlighting and I was
underlining and I was goingthrough and I thought, my God,
this is such a good book Forpeople who know nothing about
nutrition with all of themisinformation that is out there
in the world today.
I think everybody should read.
Is butter a carb?
(16:47):
Now, we all know butter's not acarb, it's a fat, isn't it
Right?
And if you didn't know that,you now know.
But if you've ever been confusedby nutrition myths, then this
book actually clears them all up, with humor and a little bit of
science sprinkled in as well.
It's all science back, but it'sdone with humor.
It is very clever and it is areally good book to read.
(17:08):
It's actually written by tworegistered dietitians.
It is a super, super easy readand I love how they tackle the
questions that I hear all thetime from shift workers carbs,
fats, detoxes, metabolism.
Anyway, I won't ruin it.
It's all fact-based and it'sfree from the usual diet culture
(17:30):
nonsense.
It's not selling anything otherthan just the theories of
what's absolute rubbish in thenutrition world and it will give
you a much better understandingand I guarantee I guarantee
that you'll have many oh what oraha moments as you go through
this book.
So number nine is Butter a Carby Rosie Saund and Helen West.
(17:53):
My tenth and last book, butabsolutely not least, is another
one.
Every single client that comesto me, every single person and
everything that's out there isall about fat loss, everything.
Everyone's overweight, everyonewants to lose fat, they all
want to look a certain way andbe a certain way.
A person that I followed onsocial media for the best part
(18:18):
of seven, maybe eight, years isBen Carpenter, and Ben's book
Everything Fat Loss isabsolutely brilliant and he's
done an incredible job ofactually taking all of the noise
out of fat loss advice.
Now this book is completelyevidence-based.
It's honest.
It's refreshingly free from anyhype, which is about he's not
(18:43):
trying to sell anything.
He's not selling you thatyou've got to go carnivore or
you've got to go vegetarian,you've got to go vegan, and
here's my supplements thatyou've got to take.
And what I appreciated most inthis book, and also about Ben,
is that he explains why fat lossis hard, but how should we
approach it with the rightmindset.
It's one that I often recommendto shift workers who want
(19:06):
results but are actuallyoverwhelmed by conflicting
advice.
Ben, it's a good, it's a greatbook and Ben's done a fantastic
job with it.
And he's actually followed itup with another book as well
Hang on which is called Fat LossHabits.
Sorry about that.
(19:27):
I had to turn around and have alook, but it's right next to it
on the bookcase.
Everything Fat Loss by BenCarpenter rounds it out as
number 10.
I could go on and on with anumber of good books, but those
10 are 10 books that I highlyrecommend every single person
reads, and I mean every singleperson.
You will understand yourcircadian rhythm.
(19:49):
You will understand theimportance of maintaining and
lining up your circadian rhythm.
The light doctor will help youto understand why you need to be
very careful with your light.
Diet around.
That Breath teaches you how tobreathe into stressful
situations and not.
We understand about sleep.
We understand about our innerclock.
(20:10):
And then Hugh Van Collenburgteaches us about the gratitude,
empathy and mindfulness, andalso about letting go of not
being perfect all the time.
And then we've got a couple ofnutrition books that will
actually just break things downand help you with them.
Fantastic Top 10.
Really good books that I wouldhighly recommend.
(20:31):
So there you have it Now.
That's 10 books that havereally helped to shape the way
that I think, the way I coachand the way I live myself.
That's improved me out of sight, considering the mental health
challenges that I've had myself.
So, whether you're trying tosleep better, eat smarter or
just understand your body alittle bit more because the more
(20:55):
you understand, the more youcan actually help yourself with
it these books, these 10 books,will make a difference.
Now, if you've read any ofthese or you'd plan to, I'd
absolutely love to hear yourthoughts on that.
So what you can do is you canactually go into the show notes
and there's a spot there, a linkthat you can go into and you
(21:15):
can message me.
It's quite simple.
Or you can leave, like a review, a rating as to the books and
give us a comment on what youfound, or if you found any of
these titles highly beneficial,share this episode with your
colleagues or even share it ontosocial media.
If you got any of these titleshighly beneficial, share this
episode with your colleagues oreven share it onto social media.
If you got anything out of it,and if you haven't already, make
(21:36):
sure you hit follow on theplatform that you're on and turn
on your notifications so younever miss any episode.
And hey, if you enjoyed thepodcast and you've been really
slack on this lately and Ireally beg you, we're almost at
the end of this one a ratingreally helps.
You've got no idea how muchjust leaving a rating or a
(21:57):
review helps the podcast to getevidence-based information out
there and those 10 books, thoseauthors will love me forever for
that, but they, honestly, theycompletely deserve it All right.
So there you go.
So I just want to say to youthank you so much for listening
and remember there's no suchthing as a perfect shift, but
(22:18):
what you can do is you canliterally make it a healthy one.
So share it with everybody, getthe evidence-based information
out there and don't forget, goand give us a rating and review,
please.
I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you for listening.
(22:40):
If you enjoyed this episode, besure to subscribe so you get
notified whenever a new episodeis released.
It would also be ever sohelpful if you could leave a
rating and review on the appyou're currently listening on.
If you want to know more aboutme or work with me, you can go
to ahealthyshiftcom.
I'll catch you on the next one.
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