August 10, 2025 • 21 mins
Text me what you thought of the show 😊
In this episode, I share a proven, practical strategy for managing night shifts in a way that protects your health and wellbeing. Night shift work doesn’t have to leave you feeling wrecked — with the right approach, you can transition into, through, and out of your shifts with far less disruption.
Here’s what I cover:
- Why waking early on the day of your first night shift works better than staying up late the night before
- How eating at normal daytime hours helps maintain circadian alignment
- The power of a short nap or 90-minute sleep before your first night shift
- Finding your rhythm: are you a one-sleep or two-sleep person between shifts?
- Why sleep medications don’t equal proper rest
- How to set clear expectations with your household to protect your sleep
- The best way to handle your final night shift and reset your body clock
- Simple tricks like changing your sheets or booking a lunch date to help your body transition
- Why early rising the day after your recovery day speeds up your return to normal rhythm
If you’re new to nights — or just sick of feeling wrecked by them — this episode will help you build a healthier approach.
For more info or to work with me, head to ahealthyshift.com.
----------------------------
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
_____________________
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
(00:29):
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.
Welcome back to A Healthy Shiftpodcast and, as you know, this
is the show that is dedicated tohelping you thrive in your
(00:51):
shift working job, not justsurvive.
I want to help you to dominateyour unique shift working
schedule.
I'm your host, Roger Sutherland, and today I'm revisiting a
topic that I get asked so muchabout or I get such good
feedback.
Now, last time I did this, Idid it in three or even four
(01:14):
podcasts over a series, and I'mgoing to combine it all into one
for you, and that is help.
I've got a night shift comingup.
What do I do?
How do I go about it?
It's an interesting topic.
It's a topic that I haveactually moved out of my main
keynote and I'm moving it to myhow to work your roster workshop
(01:36):
, which is part of the seminarexperience.
I would love you to have a lookat the seminar experience.
If you go to the show notes andclick the link the seminar
experience you'll find that itwill take you to the webpage
which tells you all about it andyou can download the e-brochure
.
And the e-brochure is somethingthat you can attach to your
(01:59):
application and notify yourhealth and wellbeing managers
that I exist.
I'm here to help you, the shiftworker, to really crush it in
your shift working world.
And if you are someone who is ahealth and wellbeing manager or
you work in the managementspace in a shift working
environment, click the link andhave a look at this, because
(02:21):
it's really, really important tohelp your workforce to really
thrive in a 24-7 shift workingenvironment.
You can't keep going on the wayyou're going on and you're
going to get caught out with alack of education which there is
in your shift workingenvironment.
I'm changing that.
I'm here to change that fromthis week, because what I'm
(02:44):
doing is I've launched theseminar experience, which is a
core keynote and a number ofworkshops that are attached to
that core keynote, and it'scalled the seminar experience,
with a whole heap more.
Click the link in the shownotes, go and have a look and I
think you'll find that it'ssomething that your workforce
needs.
(03:04):
So let's get on with today'sepisode in particular, that is,
night shift.
Now the first thing that we'vegot to do is we've got to cover
and we've got to let it know.
Let you know, Night shift isthe most impactful shift of them
all.
There is no other shift thatimpacts you as much as a night
shift does, purely because ofthe circadian misalignment, and
(03:27):
it is something that isunavoidable.
Majority of our 24-7 shiftworking environments require us
to work a night shift, so it isthe most impactful on us
biologically.
It has real health consequencesand we have to learn how to go
into, go through and come out ofthis night shift.
(03:50):
Now, obviously, this is goingto depend on whether you do one
night, whether you do threenights or whether you do seven
nights.
The theory is much the same.
So take note, sit down, grabyourself a coffee and have a
listen to this with your pen andpaper and make these notes.
(04:12):
First of all, our primary focushas to be on sleep right, Super
important Sleep.
Nothing else We've got to focuson sleep in between those.
That's got to be our primaryfocus because of the importance
of having it, and it needs to beeither a blockout week or a
blockout period of time.
It's not a time where we haveto try and fit training in, try
(04:33):
and fit getting the car servicedin, trying to fit in running
the kids to school, et cetera.
It's got to be a blockout.
It's got to be something thatwe prioritize ourselves in this
particular week.
All right, so let's talk aboutwhat's the best way for us to go
actually in to our night shift.
(04:54):
All right, so let's just assume,let's guess.
Sorry, let's just start again.
Let's say that I am going tostart night shift tomorrow night
.
All right, so I've got todayand tonight and I'm going to
start night shift tomorrow night.
So many people I know will stayup late the night before they
(05:16):
go into night shift to preparethemselves to go into it.
This is not the way to do it.
You are adding another night ofdesynchronized circadian rhythm
, another night of impactfulmissing out on sleep into your
life.
Do not do this.
Get yourself to bed early thenight before and get up early on
(05:40):
the day of your first nightshift.
All right, so imagine you'restarting night shift tomorrow
night.
You're going to get up ataround about 7 am tomorrow
morning.
Now you might think, oh my God,that means I've got 16 hours
before I even start.
What am I going to do?
Well, you're going to have toget up at around about 7 am
tomorrow morning.
Follow on, stick with me, getup at as soon as you can on that
(06:03):
day.
As soon as you wake up, get upopen the blinds, get that
daylight.
We want to synchronize ourselveswith that normal day, the day
going into night shift.
The other thing that we do,which is super important, is we
eat at normal diurnal eatingtimes on that day.
In fact, this is when we shouldalways be eating breakfast time
(06:25):
, lunch time and dinner time.
Your circadian rhythm is primedto metabolize and store
nutrients correctly and mostefficiently.
When you eat at the normaltimes, your circadian rhythm
anticipates, it starts processesfor it, which is why we get
(06:47):
hungry at those times and thenit metabolizes and stores those
nutrients the way that we wantit to do.
Where we start to gain weightand we start to have problems is
when we start eating outside ofthose normal diurnal eating
times because of the circadiandisruption that we actually have
that we create in ourselves.
One of the key indicators toour circadian rhythm, or key
(07:13):
time cues, is nutrient timing.
So the more regular that is,the more regular it keeps our
circadian rhythm, the better weactually feel.
Now the next thing we want to dois earlier that day.
We want to get some sort ofmovement and we want to keep
busy during that day.
That's the day that you get up,you go for a walk and you go to
(07:34):
the gym, or you do your class,or you catch up with Jenny and
you go and have a coffee, or youdo whatever you're going to do,
but you keep yourself busyduring the day Before you go in
that night.
That is the time when you getyourself a short nap of 20 to 25
minute or in a 90 minute cycle,Right, so this will come down
(07:58):
to and depending on what timeyou start work.
Some people do 12-hour nights,starting at 6 pm or 7 pm.
Some people don't start until10 or 11.
No matter what you do, youstill eat at those normal times
and try and get that nap beforeyou go to work.
Now, if you're blessed andyou're one of these people, that
(08:18):
starts later in the evening andyou can get a 90-minute sleep
in happy days.
Do that Now.
This is not the time where welie in bed scrolling, hoping
that we're going to go to sleep.
This is a time where we put thesleep mask on.
We lie there, we do some breathwork and we get ourselves into
a really good state to actuallyfall asleep.
We only need 20 to 25 minutesjust to release that sleep
(08:41):
pressure.
Yep, you might be tired goingthrough the first night, but you
will sleep a lot better thenext day between the nights,
which is what we actually want.
And that nap of 20 to 25minutes or in that 90-minute
cycle because we sleep in90-minute cycles cycles will
stand you in good stead to getthrough the night.
(09:03):
So that's the first day goinginto the night shift.
All right, going into the night.
Now what do we do aboutnavigating the week?
How do we navigate this actualweek of night shift?
Well, the first thing I wouldsay is just get through it.
All right, we don't do anythingelse.
(09:24):
I want you to try and work out,depending on your shift schedule
as well.
Work out if you are a one or atwo sleep person, whether you're
a nap nap, nap, napper right.
Whether you're a person thathas two naps, whether you have a
sleep and a nap, or whetheryou're someone who just has one
big long sleep, this is very,very individual as to how people
(09:45):
go about doing this.
Some people I know mepersonally I would come home
from work after night shift.
I would sleep for about three,four hours and then I would wake
, so I would just get up.
I'd get up, I'd go for a walk,I'd get up out in the light, I'd
wander around, do my personaljobs, do whatever I needed to do
, and then I would have dinnerand have a nap before I went
(10:06):
back into work again, and thatworked perfectly for me.
It's really important that youwork this out and I don't want
you to put the expectations onyourself that, oh, I've got to
get eight to nine hours sleep,because if I don't get eight to
nine hours sleep, then I'm nogood.
So people start to takemedications around that we don't
take medications for sleepbetween nights.
(10:28):
When you take medications andyou get medicated sleep, you are
unconscious, you are notsleeping.
I want you to have a look atthe people at your work that
tell you oh, I got eight hourssleep today.
Oh, I slept really really well.
Now have a look at them onnight shift.
They are the ones that arereally struggling on the night
(10:49):
shift, and that's because theyweren't asleep.
They were actually unconscious.
When you take medicated sleep,you actually find Now when I say
medicated sleep, I'm talkingabout people who take any
medications to help them tosleep overnight shift a sleeping
pill of some form.
It does not help you.
I'm not talking about melatonin.
(11:09):
Melatonin is something that youcan take, but I will give you a
footnote so that you understandaround melatonin Melatonin
needs to be taken two hoursbefore you're due to sleep.
Now you tell me whether it'ssafe for you to take melaton
hours before you're due to sleep.
Now you tell me whether it'ssafe for you to take melatonin
while you're still at work,before you get to go to sleep.
And that's the decision,Because if you take melatonin
(11:32):
when you get into bed for yournight shift sleep, you may
actually phase shift yourcircadian rhythm and cause
yourself all sorts of confusionin your system, which is why it
makes it even harder to sleepagain.
All right, so keep that in mindno medications.
And melatonin needs to be takentwo hours before you're due to
(11:54):
go to sleep.
If you've got to drive, todrive home, that could be
dangerous, so that's somethingthat you've got to consider.
The next thing communicate withyour householders what your
expectations are.
This seems simple, butcommunicate with people in your
house.
This is what I'm going to do.
I'm going to sleep here andthen I'm going to get up, and
then I'm going to do this andI'm going to go back and nap.
(12:15):
That conversation can actuallysave you storming out of the
room with your pillow tuckedunder your arm, yelling and
screaming at people.
It doesn't work.
Just communicate.
Just say this is what I'mplanning on doing.
Hey kids, hey Mrs, hey, Mr, I'mgoing to be on night shift.
This is what I'm doing.
This is how I go about doing it.
(12:35):
This is what I want to do.
Don't let them expect that,because you did it this way last
time, that this is the wayyou're going to do it this time.
Communicate it.
Let them know what have you got.
This is why I talk about thewhiteboard and scheduling, so
that you can put it up on theboard.
The next thing that I talkabout is plan, nothing else
during that night shift.
This is not the time for you tosay, oh, I've got a specialist
(12:58):
appointment that I had to make.
Oh, I had to get the carservice because that's when it
was booked in for.
Oh, I've got to take littleJohnny to school.
Do you know how dangerous thatis?
You're putting your ownchildren in the car and driving
them to school after a nightshift when your body is doing
absolutely everything itpossibly can to put you to sleep
.
Have a think about the dangersof actually doing that, because
(13:21):
it's really bad.
So then that's it.
We just get home.
We don't stop on the way homeand do an F45 or go to the gym.
Sleep must be the priority.
All right, Remember thatSleep's priority all the time.
Go home, sleep, get good, solidsleep and, if you then feel
(13:42):
like it, go to the gymafterwards.
The benefits for you going tothe gym after night shift and
before sleeping there is none.
It's just not going to help you.
Your body is not going to workproperly and you run the risk of
doing a serious injury becauseyour body is already stressed
and you are stressing an alreadystressed body.
(14:02):
So that's it.
Going through the days betweennights, just get through it.
All right, that's the nextthing that we do Right Now.
Our next step what's the bestway for us to come out of the
night shift?
Now?
If you do one night, it makesit fairly easy, right.
But if you're going to do more,then I've told you how to go
(14:23):
into it.
I've told you how to go throughit.
But when you have your lastnight, this is how we go about
coming out of night shift, andthis is life-changing for
everybody that I have coached.
Once I start doing this, thisis where life completely changes
for them.
(14:45):
First thing that you got to dois you go straight home,
straight home.
You eat, shower, go to bed andget that sleep.
Now you're going to set youralarm now for either three hours
or four and a half.
Remember, I said we sleep in 90minute cycles.
Most people will set it forfour and a half because by the
time you get to there, you're ina routine.
(15:05):
But those that are only doingone or maybe two nights, three
hours may very well be enough.
Remember, we want to get backinto our normal diurnal or
daytime routine as soon as wepossibly can.
As soon as the alarm goes off,you've got to get up, right,
You've got to get up.
You've got to stand up, you'vegot to open the blinds and
(15:27):
you've got to get that light inyour eyes.
You will not spontaneouslycombust, Even though you feel
like you might, you won't.
I can promise you that won'thappen.
The next thing you do is youturn around, face your bed and
you rip all the sheets and theblank, the bedding, off the bed
and you put the sheets in thewashing machine and you give the
sheets a good wash and put themout on the line.
(15:48):
Why do we do that?
We do that because who doesn'tlove climbing into fresh sheets
after they've been washed?
Right, Everybody loves to climbinto fresh sheets and that's
going to help you to sleep.
When you go to bed that night,we get up, we hydrate, we then
caffeinate, we then get out inthe daytime, in the daylight.
(16:10):
Now, this is a really, reallygood day to actually get up, get
out, go for a walk, but priorto starting that night shift,
organize to catch up with afriend or family, to commit
yourself to go out for lunchthat day.
I know it hurts, but it willset you up really, really well
(16:30):
as you move forward from thisnight shift.
So you've got to get up and youknow you're going to strip your
bed, you're going to put it outon the line, change your sheets
and then hydrate, caffeinate,go for your walk and then you've
got to go and catch up withJenny for lunch.
As much as you begrudgingly doit, it's going to help you no
end by sitting outside, gettingthat light or being stimulated
(16:53):
and keeping you occupied forthat period of time to stop you
from flopping on the couch underartificial light, watching the
TV and dozing, which is going tocause you all sorts of problems
coming out of that night shiftthat will impact on your sleep.
You will have to ride thosewaves of oh my God, I feel like
(17:13):
I'm going to go to sleep andkeep on going on that day.
So that's it.
Then we go to bed around about10 pm.
We have no alcohol, no screens.
We go through our routine, werelax and we go to sleep, and
you'll find that you'll sleepthrough that night and that is
the way we come out of nightshift.
(17:33):
We get up again early the nextday, at 7am, and then we go
through and repeat Early light,early movement, eating at the
normal times and away you go,and that is the optimal way for
you to go into, go through andcome out of night shift.
Now, everybody's different andI totally understand that, but
(17:54):
this is the best and mostoptimal way for people to go
through it that I have found bycoaching clients and also the
feedback that I get from socialmedia about people that have
followed this protocol havefound it so much more efficient
than their late night, the nightbefore, going into night shift
and sleeping half the day andspending the day on the couch
(18:17):
and not sleeping properly duringthe week, and then the day they
come out of night shift they'relounging around all day
flopping on the couch, nappingand not doing very well at all.
Try it this way.
This way works.
I can promise you this wayworks and you will start to
really, really thrive on thebest possible way to go through
(18:38):
night shift.
All right, so that's it for thisepisode.
I hope you've really enjoyedthat and I hope you'd also got
something out of that to helpyou.
I know it's a topic that I'vecovered before, but it's a topic
that I've covered before, butit's a topic that needs covering
over and over again to help anynew listeners to understand the
best way to go into, go throughand come out of that night
(19:00):
shift with minimum disruption toyour circadian rhythm.
Please rate and review, shareit and I'll catch you on the
next one.
Thank you for listening.
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
(19:21):
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
(00:29):
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.
Welcome back to A Healthy Shiftpodcast and, as you know, this
is the show that is dedicated tohelping you thrive in your
(00:51):
shift working job, not justsurvive.
I want to help you to dominateyour unique shift working
schedule.
I'm your host, Roger Sutherland, and today I'm revisiting a
topic that I get asked so muchabout or I get such good
feedback.
Now, last time I did this, Idid it in three or even four
(01:14):
podcasts over a series, and I'mgoing to combine it all into one
for you, and that is help.
I've got a night shift comingup.
What do I do?
How do I go about it?
It's an interesting topic.
It's a topic that I haveactually moved out of my main
keynote and I'm moving it to myhow to work your roster workshop
(01:36):
, which is part of the seminarexperience.
I would love you to have a lookat the seminar experience.
If you go to the show notes andclick the link the seminar
experience you'll find that itwill take you to the webpage
which tells you all about it andyou can download the e-brochure
.
And the e-brochure is somethingthat you can attach to your
(01:59):
application and notify yourhealth and wellbeing managers
that I exist.
I'm here to help you, the shiftworker, to really crush it in
your shift working world.
And if you are someone who is ahealth and wellbeing manager or
you work in the managementspace in a shift working
environment, click the link andhave a look at this, because
(02:21):
it's really, really important tohelp your workforce to really
thrive in a 24-7 shift workingenvironment.
You can't keep going on the wayyou're going on and you're
going to get caught out with alack of education which there is
in your shift workingenvironment.
I'm changing that.
I'm here to change that fromthis week, because what I'm
(02:44):
doing is I've launched theseminar experience, which is a
core keynote and a number ofworkshops that are attached to
that core keynote, and it'scalled the seminar experience,
with a whole heap more.
Click the link in the shownotes, go and have a look and I
think you'll find that it'ssomething that your workforce
needs.
(03:04):
So let's get on with today'sepisode in particular, that is,
night shift.
Now the first thing that we'vegot to do is we've got to cover
and we've got to let it know.
Let you know, Night shift isthe most impactful shift of them
all.
There is no other shift thatimpacts you as much as a night
shift does, purely because ofthe circadian misalignment, and
(03:27):
it is something that isunavoidable.
Majority of our 24-7 shiftworking environments require us
to work a night shift, so it isthe most impactful on us
biologically.
It has real health consequencesand we have to learn how to go
into, go through and come out ofthis night shift.
(03:50):
Now, obviously, this is goingto depend on whether you do one
night, whether you do threenights or whether you do seven
nights.
The theory is much the same.
So take note, sit down, grabyourself a coffee and have a
listen to this with your pen andpaper and make these notes.
(04:12):
First of all, our primary focushas to be on sleep right, Super
important Sleep.
Nothing else We've got to focuson sleep in between those.
That's got to be our primaryfocus because of the importance
of having it, and it needs to beeither a blockout week or a
blockout period of time.
It's not a time where we haveto try and fit training in, try
(04:33):
and fit getting the car servicedin, trying to fit in running
the kids to school, et cetera.
It's got to be a blockout.
It's got to be something thatwe prioritize ourselves in this
particular week.
All right, so let's talk aboutwhat's the best way for us to go
actually in to our night shift.
(04:54):
All right, so let's just assume,let's guess.
Sorry, let's just start again.
Let's say that I am going tostart night shift tomorrow night
.
All right, so I've got todayand tonight and I'm going to
start night shift tomorrow night.
So many people I know will stayup late the night before they
(05:16):
go into night shift to preparethemselves to go into it.
This is not the way to do it.
You are adding another night ofdesynchronized circadian rhythm
, another night of impactfulmissing out on sleep into your
life.
Do not do this.
Get yourself to bed early thenight before and get up early on
(05:40):
the day of your first nightshift.
All right, so imagine you'restarting night shift tomorrow
night.
You're going to get up ataround about 7 am tomorrow
morning.
Now you might think, oh my God,that means I've got 16 hours
before I even start.
What am I going to do?
Well, you're going to have toget up at around about 7 am
tomorrow morning.
Follow on, stick with me, getup at as soon as you can on that
(06:03):
day.
As soon as you wake up, get upopen the blinds, get that
daylight.
We want to synchronize ourselveswith that normal day, the day
going into night shift.
The other thing that we do,which is super important, is we
eat at normal diurnal eatingtimes on that day.
In fact, this is when we shouldalways be eating breakfast time
(06:25):
, lunch time and dinner time.
Your circadian rhythm is primedto metabolize and store
nutrients correctly and mostefficiently.
When you eat at the normaltimes, your circadian rhythm
anticipates, it starts processesfor it, which is why we get
(06:47):
hungry at those times and thenit metabolizes and stores those
nutrients the way that we wantit to do.
Where we start to gain weightand we start to have problems is
when we start eating outside ofthose normal diurnal eating
times because of the circadiandisruption that we actually have
that we create in ourselves.
One of the key indicators toour circadian rhythm, or key
(07:13):
time cues, is nutrient timing.
So the more regular that is,the more regular it keeps our
circadian rhythm, the better weactually feel.
Now the next thing we want to dois earlier that day.
We want to get some sort ofmovement and we want to keep
busy during that day.
That's the day that you get up,you go for a walk and you go to
(07:34):
the gym, or you do your class,or you catch up with Jenny and
you go and have a coffee, or youdo whatever you're going to do,
but you keep yourself busyduring the day Before you go in
that night.
That is the time when you getyourself a short nap of 20 to 25
minute or in a 90 minute cycle,Right, so this will come down
(07:58):
to and depending on what timeyou start work.
Some people do 12-hour nights,starting at 6 pm or 7 pm.
Some people don't start until10 or 11.
No matter what you do, youstill eat at those normal times
and try and get that nap beforeyou go to work.
Now, if you're blessed andyou're one of these people, that
(08:18):
starts later in the evening andyou can get a 90-minute sleep
in happy days.
Do that Now.
This is not the time where welie in bed scrolling, hoping
that we're going to go to sleep.
This is a time where we put thesleep mask on.
We lie there, we do some breathwork and we get ourselves into
a really good state to actuallyfall asleep.
We only need 20 to 25 minutesjust to release that sleep
(08:41):
pressure.
Yep, you might be tired goingthrough the first night, but you
will sleep a lot better thenext day between the nights,
which is what we actually want.
And that nap of 20 to 25minutes or in that 90-minute
cycle because we sleep in90-minute cycles cycles will
stand you in good stead to getthrough the night.
(09:03):
So that's the first day goinginto the night shift.
All right, going into the night.
Now what do we do aboutnavigating the week?
How do we navigate this actualweek of night shift?
Well, the first thing I wouldsay is just get through it.
All right, we don't do anythingelse.
(09:24):
I want you to try and work out,depending on your shift schedule
as well.
Work out if you are a one or atwo sleep person, whether you're
a nap nap, nap, napper right.
Whether you're a person thathas two naps, whether you have a
sleep and a nap, or whetheryou're someone who just has one
big long sleep, this is very,very individual as to how people
(09:45):
go about doing this.
Some people I know mepersonally I would come home
from work after night shift.
I would sleep for about three,four hours and then I would wake
, so I would just get up.
I'd get up, I'd go for a walk,I'd get up out in the light, I'd
wander around, do my personaljobs, do whatever I needed to do
, and then I would have dinnerand have a nap before I went
(10:06):
back into work again, and thatworked perfectly for me.
It's really important that youwork this out and I don't want
you to put the expectations onyourself that, oh, I've got to
get eight to nine hours sleep,because if I don't get eight to
nine hours sleep, then I'm nogood.
So people start to takemedications around that we don't
take medications for sleepbetween nights.
(10:28):
When you take medications andyou get medicated sleep, you are
unconscious, you are notsleeping.
I want you to have a look atthe people at your work that
tell you oh, I got eight hourssleep today.
Oh, I slept really really well.
Now have a look at them onnight shift.
They are the ones that arereally struggling on the night
(10:49):
shift, and that's because theyweren't asleep.
They were actually unconscious.
When you take medicated sleep,you actually find Now when I say
medicated sleep, I'm talkingabout people who take any
medications to help them tosleep overnight shift a sleeping
pill of some form.
It does not help you.
I'm not talking about melatonin.
(11:09):
Melatonin is something that youcan take, but I will give you a
footnote so that you understandaround melatonin Melatonin
needs to be taken two hoursbefore you're due to sleep.
Now you tell me whether it'ssafe for you to take melaton
hours before you're due to sleep.
Now you tell me whether it'ssafe for you to take melatonin
while you're still at work,before you get to go to sleep.
And that's the decision,Because if you take melatonin
(11:32):
when you get into bed for yournight shift sleep, you may
actually phase shift yourcircadian rhythm and cause
yourself all sorts of confusionin your system, which is why it
makes it even harder to sleepagain.
All right, so keep that in mindno medications.
And melatonin needs to be takentwo hours before you're due to
(11:54):
go to sleep.
If you've got to drive, todrive home, that could be
dangerous, so that's somethingthat you've got to consider.
The next thing communicate withyour householders what your
expectations are.
This seems simple, butcommunicate with people in your
house.
This is what I'm going to do.
I'm going to sleep here andthen I'm going to get up, and
then I'm going to do this andI'm going to go back and nap.
(12:15):
That conversation can actuallysave you storming out of the
room with your pillow tuckedunder your arm, yelling and
screaming at people.
It doesn't work.
Just communicate.
Just say this is what I'mplanning on doing.
Hey kids, hey Mrs, hey, Mr, I'mgoing to be on night shift.
This is what I'm doing.
This is how I go about doing it.
(12:35):
This is what I want to do.
Don't let them expect that,because you did it this way last
time, that this is the wayyou're going to do it this time.
Communicate it.
Let them know what have you got.
This is why I talk about thewhiteboard and scheduling, so
that you can put it up on theboard.
The next thing that I talkabout is plan, nothing else
during that night shift.
This is not the time for you tosay, oh, I've got a specialist
(12:58):
appointment that I had to make.
Oh, I had to get the carservice because that's when it
was booked in for.
Oh, I've got to take littleJohnny to school.
Do you know how dangerous thatis?
You're putting your ownchildren in the car and driving
them to school after a nightshift when your body is doing
absolutely everything itpossibly can to put you to sleep
.
Have a think about the dangersof actually doing that, because
(13:21):
it's really bad.
So then that's it.
We just get home.
We don't stop on the way homeand do an F45 or go to the gym.
Sleep must be the priority.
All right, Remember thatSleep's priority all the time.
Go home, sleep, get good, solidsleep and, if you then feel
(13:42):
like it, go to the gymafterwards.
The benefits for you going tothe gym after night shift and
before sleeping there is none.
It's just not going to help you.
Your body is not going to workproperly and you run the risk of
doing a serious injury becauseyour body is already stressed
and you are stressing an alreadystressed body.
(14:02):
So that's it.
Going through the days betweennights, just get through it.
All right, that's the nextthing that we do Right Now.
Our next step what's the bestway for us to come out of the
night shift?
Now?
If you do one night, it makesit fairly easy, right.
But if you're going to do more,then I've told you how to go
(14:23):
into it.
I've told you how to go throughit.
But when you have your lastnight, this is how we go about
coming out of night shift, andthis is life-changing for
everybody that I have coached.
Once I start doing this, thisis where life completely changes
for them.
(14:45):
First thing that you got to dois you go straight home,
straight home.
You eat, shower, go to bed andget that sleep.
Now you're going to set youralarm now for either three hours
or four and a half.
Remember, I said we sleep in 90minute cycles.
Most people will set it forfour and a half because by the
time you get to there, you're ina routine.
(15:05):
But those that are only doingone or maybe two nights, three
hours may very well be enough.
Remember, we want to get backinto our normal diurnal or
daytime routine as soon as wepossibly can.
As soon as the alarm goes off,you've got to get up, right,
You've got to get up.
You've got to stand up, you'vegot to open the blinds and
(15:27):
you've got to get that light inyour eyes.
You will not spontaneouslycombust, Even though you feel
like you might, you won't.
I can promise you that won'thappen.
The next thing you do is youturn around, face your bed and
you rip all the sheets and theblank, the bedding, off the bed
and you put the sheets in thewashing machine and you give the
sheets a good wash and put themout on the line.
(15:48):
Why do we do that?
We do that because who doesn'tlove climbing into fresh sheets
after they've been washed?
Right, Everybody loves to climbinto fresh sheets and that's
going to help you to sleep.
When you go to bed that night,we get up, we hydrate, we then
caffeinate, we then get out inthe daytime, in the daylight.
(16:10):
Now, this is a really, reallygood day to actually get up, get
out, go for a walk, but priorto starting that night shift,
organize to catch up with afriend or family, to commit
yourself to go out for lunchthat day.
I know it hurts, but it willset you up really, really well
(16:30):
as you move forward from thisnight shift.
So you've got to get up and youknow you're going to strip your
bed, you're going to put it outon the line, change your sheets
and then hydrate, caffeinate,go for your walk and then you've
got to go and catch up withJenny for lunch.
As much as you begrudgingly doit, it's going to help you no
end by sitting outside, gettingthat light or being stimulated
(16:53):
and keeping you occupied forthat period of time to stop you
from flopping on the couch underartificial light, watching the
TV and dozing, which is going tocause you all sorts of problems
coming out of that night shiftthat will impact on your sleep.
You will have to ride thosewaves of oh my God, I feel like
(17:13):
I'm going to go to sleep andkeep on going on that day.
So that's it.
Then we go to bed around about10 pm.
We have no alcohol, no screens.
We go through our routine, werelax and we go to sleep, and
you'll find that you'll sleepthrough that night and that is
the way we come out of nightshift.
(17:33):
We get up again early the nextday, at 7am, and then we go
through and repeat Early light,early movement, eating at the
normal times and away you go,and that is the optimal way for
you to go into, go through andcome out of night shift.
Now, everybody's different andI totally understand that, but
(17:54):
this is the best and mostoptimal way for people to go
through it that I have found bycoaching clients and also the
feedback that I get from socialmedia about people that have
followed this protocol havefound it so much more efficient
than their late night, the nightbefore, going into night shift
and sleeping half the day andspending the day on the couch
(18:17):
and not sleeping properly duringthe week, and then the day they
come out of night shift they'relounging around all day
flopping on the couch, nappingand not doing very well at all.
Try it this way.
This way works.
I can promise you this wayworks and you will start to
really, really thrive on thebest possible way to go through
(18:38):
night shift.
All right, so that's it for thisepisode.
I hope you've really enjoyedthat and I hope you'd also got
something out of that to helpyou.
I know it's a topic that I'vecovered before, but it's a topic
that I've covered before, butit's a topic that needs covering
over and over again to help anynew listeners to understand the
best way to go into, go throughand come out of that night
(19:00):
shift with minimum disruption toyour circadian rhythm.
Please rate and review, shareit and I'll catch you on the
next one.
Thank you for listening.
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
(19:21):
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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