November 27, 2025 • 14 mins
Text me what you thought of the show 😊
The idea of “catching up” on sleep with a long lie-in sounds helpful, but it actually disrupts your body clock. In this episode, I explain why it backfires and share a simple plan to stabilise your sleep timing across nights, early starts, and rotating shifts. You’ll learn how to anchor your wake time, use light and movement to reset your clock, nap strategically, and bank sleep before tough runs.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why weekend lie-ins disrupt circadian rhythm
- How a drifting body clock drives cravings, low mood, and fatigue
- The anchor habit of a consistent wake-up time
- How morning light and gentle movement act as time cues
- Short power naps that support recovery without harming night sleep
- How to bank sleep before nights and early starts
- A practical daily timing plan for shift workers
- A calm pre-sleep routine that improves depth and consistency
If you want help building a sleep plan that fits your roster and your energy needs, use the link in the show notes to get in touch.
Subscribe for new episodes, and please leave a rating and review—it helps more shift workers find the show.
Learn more at 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.
_______________________
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
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, and24-7 shift worker for almost
four decades.
Through this podcast, I aim toeducate shift workers using
evidence-based methods to notonly survive the rigors of shift
(02:05):
work, but thrive.
My goal is to empower shiftworkers to improve their health
and well-being so they have moreenergy to do the things they
love.
Enjoy today's show.
And hello everybody.
Welcome back to a healthy shiftpodcast.
I'm your host, Roger Sutherland.
(02:26):
As you know, an evidence-based,certified nutritionist, shift
work coach.
Now, today I want to explainsomething that so many of you
get wrong.
So many shift workers get thispart wrong, and this is
literally what causes majorityof the problems on why you feel
so tired, why you feel so brainfogged, why you just can't get
(02:47):
going and feel so totallyunmotivated.
People tell me all the time,I'll just catch up on my sleep
on my days off.
Uh-huh.
And that is the problem.
And I get, I totally understandwhy that you would think that.
It obviously feels logical.
You're tired, you're getting tobed late, you'll get more sleep
(03:08):
later, and then everything willfix itself because I've got to
get my seven to nine hours.
And this is so disordered, andthis is what creates a lot of
problems and sends exactly thewrong message.
It just doesn't work like that.
You cannot catch up on sleep theway that you might think that
you actually can.
And when you try and youactually have that lie-in,
(03:31):
you'll find that you'll actuallymake things worse.
But you can bank sleep.
That's right.
You can bank it, and thatchanges everything.
So let's break it down today ina simple and a very, very
practical way for you.
And by the end of this podcast,you will know exactly what to do
after a run of night, earlyshifts, or long stretches where
(03:54):
that sleep hasn't gone well,that overtime slaughtered you,
and you've got home late, andnow you're in a pickle and you
want to try and catch up onsleep.
So let's go through the firststep, why you can't catch up on
sleep.
I want you to remember this, andwe've talked about this hundreds
of times.
Your body runs on a clock.
Now, your brain actuallyanticipates and expects light at
(04:16):
certain times, movement atcertain times, food at certain
times, and sleep at certaintimes.
That rhythm is built within you.
It's built inside all the time.
It's running on the same clocktime clock.
Now, when you sleep in becauseyou feel wrecked, what you
actually do is you confuse thatclock and you push it completely
(04:40):
out of position.
No light hitting your eyes, nomovement.
You're delaying your first meal.
And you shift your body into alater rhythm.
Your eyes are closed, you'resleeping, and you're pushing it
back later.
But then your next shift doesn'twait.
And the next activity doesn'twait for you because you've
(05:00):
still got to get up early thenext day, or you've still got to
go into night shift, or you'vegot to switch back to those
normal hours, or you've got tobe in a certain place at a
certain time.
And now your internal clock andyour roster are completely out
of sync.
And this is why catching upcreates more chaos.
You are not restoring order byactually catching up on sleep.
(05:22):
What you are doing is you areshifting your rhythm even
further out.
And the downstream effects ofthis show up very, very quickly.
While you feel like it's a goodidea to lie in and have a little
lie-in, and you get up and youthink, oh, I really needed that.
Thank God I listened to my body.
I'll guarantee to you later inthe afternoon you feel groggy
(05:44):
and your appetite is all overthe place and you're craving
sugar and you feel completelyunmotivated to train and your
mood drops, and then youstruggle to fall asleep again
that night.
So even though you slept morehours, you didn't actually help
the system.
What you did was you actuallyconfused it.
(06:05):
Now, how does this circadiandisruption build?
Well, when your wait times keepshifting backwards and forwards,
your circadian rhythm stopstrusting your pattern.
It has nowhere to actuallyanchor itself to.
And this is vital.
This means that your hormonesare not lining up with your
sleep.
(06:25):
Your energy rises and falls atthe wrong times, and your
digestion completely goes out ofsync.
And your sleep pressure, thatthing that helps you to not only
fall asleep, but stay asleep,gets weaker.
So you lie awake more, you tossand turn more, and then you
think you're behind on sleep.
So what do you do?
(06:45):
You try and catch up again, andthe cycle gets tighter.
This is why so many shiftworkers feel stuck.
And it's not the hours you'remissing, it's the time in chaos.
So many people I know that workon the two two-day shifts,
two-night shifts, four days offcycle really struggle with going
(07:09):
to sleep the night before theirfirst day shift.
Put your hand up.
I know so many people struggleto go to bed and sleep properly
before their first day shift,after a few days off.
And the reason for that isbecause you've been sleeping in
the day before and the daybefore that.
And what you've done is you'veactually phase shifted your
circadian rhythm.
(07:30):
So when you actually have to getthat 4:30, 445 alarm to get up
and go to work, you've wokenyourself up right in the middle
of a deep sleep cycle.
And that is what is causing youthe problem.
So here's the fix a consistentwake-up time.
Rog, I'm a shift worker.
I know, I get that.
(07:50):
But here's the simple and theboring and the most powerful
answer.
You've got to wake up at roughlythe same time every day.
Now, I don't care that you'vegot overtime until 12:30, one or
two, get up at the same time.
Don't push your circadian rhythmback.
You're not catching up on sleep,you're causing yourself more
problems.
(08:12):
Even after that bad sleep, evenafter that late night, even when
the temptation to stay in bed issuper strong and that snooze
button, bang, there it is.
The snooze button.
What I want you to do is get up.
Get up, open the curtains, getthat daylight, get outside, get
that natural light into youreyes.
Move your body a little.
(08:33):
Wander around the garden, go fora walk around the block, do
something.
Because this fixes a lot morethan what you actually think.
What you'll do what you've justdone is you've let your internal
clock lock into that pattern.
Your mood lifts, your appetiteactually steadies, your energy
evens out, and sleep, it becomeseven easier at night because you
(08:56):
are now working back in syncwith your rhythm and not against
it.
Now let's be real.
Rog, shift work is really hardon sleep.
And some days your tank isempty.
You finished at 2 a.m.
and you got home and you slept,and now Roger's telling you you
gotta get up at 7.
If you need a topping, a top-up,don't sleep in.
(09:18):
Here's your power theory don'thave a short nap.
Just 20 to 30 minutes.
That's all you need to do.
No longer.
Just 20 to 30 minutes just torelease that sleep pressure
without pushing your body clockaround.
This will not impact on yoursleep at night.
It will give you a circuitbreaker and it will keep you
(09:39):
alert during the day.
But it doesn't disrupt yourrhythm the same way as a long
morning sleeping does.
Think of it as a safety valve.
It helps with the cost.
So here's where the magichappens.
Now you can't catch up on sleep,but you can bank it.
This means going to bed earlieron days when you know you have a
(10:03):
tough run ahead.
Now, shift workers should thinkof sleep the way athletes think
of hydration or nutrition.
You load it before the stresshits.
Now banking sleep builds abuffer, it reduces the cognitive
hit you take during the nightsor the early starts.
It will help to make you morealert.
(10:23):
And it's a strategy which isused in research and elite
performance settings all thetime.
And it's simple.
Don't push your bedtime tilllater.
Actually bring it forward.
Even 30 to 60 minutes extra fora few nights can actually make a
huge difference long term.
Your body can work with thisbecause it supports your
(10:44):
circadian rhythm instead ofbreaking it.
And this is the real catching upon sleep.
It's just done before thedeficit and not after it.
So here's a simple strategy foryou as a shift worker.
A clear plan that you canactually use right away.
Look at your roster and pick awake-up time the same time every
(11:08):
day and protect that, roughlyaround that time.
6 30, 7 30, thereabouts.
Let this be your anchor and haveeverything else revolve around
that.
Number two, once you wake, getoutside within 30 minutes.
Light resets your body clock.
(11:28):
It tells your body to suppressthe sleep hormones.
It tells your body to get you upand about and elevates cortisol
for you to get going.
Move your body early.
Even just a short walk round theblock will help and make a
difference.
What you've done then is you'vehit another one of the key light
givers or the key time giversthat our circadian rhythm needs.
(11:52):
Number four, don't sleep in tocatch up.
But use a power nap as yourmaster stroke.
And then bank sleep before heavyshifts.
Go to bed earlier, not later.
Going into night shift, go tobed earlier.
Get a good solid night's sleep.
Start banking sleep knowing thatyou're not going to sleep
(12:15):
properly going through thenights.
This will make a big difference.
And number six, make sure youkeep a calm and pre-sleep
routine.
Use the same routine every timeyou go to bed, and you will be
keying your body into ah, thisis what we do when we go to
sleep.
Dim the lights.
Slow everything right down.
(12:35):
Let the body wind down.
Have a hot shower.
Let the body cool so you'reready for sleep.
These steps help to stabilizeyour rhythm.
It will help to keep yourhormones so important, keep them
steady, and to give you a bettersleep quality over time.
And when your rhythm is ready,everything else feels easier.
(12:57):
Sorry, when your rhythm issteady, everything else feels a
lot easier.
Your energy, your mood, yourhunger, the PBs in the gym, and
your recovery will all improve.
So I want you to remember this.
Feeling tired doesn't mean thatyou're behind on hours.
(13:18):
It often means that your rhythmis completely out of alignment.
And you can't repair that bysleeping in.
But what you can do is stabilizeit with a steady wake-up time,
with morning light, withmovement, and sleep banking.
And if you want help working outa sleep plan that fits your
roster and your life and yourenergy needs, I can absolutely
(13:43):
help you with that.
And there are links in the shownotes to get in touch with me.
I want to say thanks forlistening.
Take care of yourself and makeyour next shift a healthy shift.
But don't sleep in.
Thank you for listening.
(14:03):
If you enjoyed this episode, besure to subscribe so you get
notified whenever a new episodeis released.
It would also be ever so helpfulif you could leave a rating and
review on the app you'recurrently listening on.
If you want to know more aboutme or work with me, you can go
to ahealthyshift.com.
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, and24-7 shift worker for almost
four decades.
Through this podcast, I aim toeducate shift workers using
evidence-based methods to notonly survive the rigors of shift
(02:05):
work, but thrive.
My goal is to empower shiftworkers to improve their health
and well-being so they have moreenergy to do the things they
love.
Enjoy today's show.
And hello everybody.
Welcome back to a healthy shiftpodcast.
I'm your host, Roger Sutherland.
(02:26):
As you know, an evidence-based,certified nutritionist, shift
work coach.
Now, today I want to explainsomething that so many of you
get wrong.
So many shift workers get thispart wrong, and this is
literally what causes majorityof the problems on why you feel
so tired, why you feel so brainfogged, why you just can't get
(02:47):
going and feel so totallyunmotivated.
People tell me all the time,I'll just catch up on my sleep
on my days off.
Uh-huh.
And that is the problem.
And I get, I totally understandwhy that you would think that.
It obviously feels logical.
You're tired, you're getting tobed late, you'll get more sleep
(03:08):
later, and then everything willfix itself because I've got to
get my seven to nine hours.
And this is so disordered, andthis is what creates a lot of
problems and sends exactly thewrong message.
It just doesn't work like that.
You cannot catch up on sleep theway that you might think that
you actually can.
And when you try and youactually have that lie-in,
(03:31):
you'll find that you'll actuallymake things worse.
But you can bank sleep.
That's right.
You can bank it, and thatchanges everything.
So let's break it down today ina simple and a very, very
practical way for you.
And by the end of this podcast,you will know exactly what to do
after a run of night, earlyshifts, or long stretches where
(03:54):
that sleep hasn't gone well,that overtime slaughtered you,
and you've got home late, andnow you're in a pickle and you
want to try and catch up onsleep.
So let's go through the firststep, why you can't catch up on
sleep.
I want you to remember this, andwe've talked about this hundreds
of times.
Your body runs on a clock.
Now, your brain actuallyanticipates and expects light at
(04:16):
certain times, movement atcertain times, food at certain
times, and sleep at certaintimes.
That rhythm is built within you.
It's built inside all the time.
It's running on the same clocktime clock.
Now, when you sleep in becauseyou feel wrecked, what you
actually do is you confuse thatclock and you push it completely
(04:40):
out of position.
No light hitting your eyes, nomovement.
You're delaying your first meal.
And you shift your body into alater rhythm.
Your eyes are closed, you'resleeping, and you're pushing it
back later.
But then your next shift doesn'twait.
And the next activity doesn'twait for you because you've
(05:00):
still got to get up early thenext day, or you've still got to
go into night shift, or you'vegot to switch back to those
normal hours, or you've got tobe in a certain place at a
certain time.
And now your internal clock andyour roster are completely out
of sync.
And this is why catching upcreates more chaos.
You are not restoring order byactually catching up on sleep.
(05:22):
What you are doing is you areshifting your rhythm even
further out.
And the downstream effects ofthis show up very, very quickly.
While you feel like it's a goodidea to lie in and have a little
lie-in, and you get up and youthink, oh, I really needed that.
Thank God I listened to my body.
I'll guarantee to you later inthe afternoon you feel groggy
(05:44):
and your appetite is all overthe place and you're craving
sugar and you feel completelyunmotivated to train and your
mood drops, and then youstruggle to fall asleep again
that night.
So even though you slept morehours, you didn't actually help
the system.
What you did was you actuallyconfused it.
(06:05):
Now, how does this circadiandisruption build?
Well, when your wait times keepshifting backwards and forwards,
your circadian rhythm stopstrusting your pattern.
It has nowhere to actuallyanchor itself to.
And this is vital.
This means that your hormonesare not lining up with your
sleep.
(06:25):
Your energy rises and falls atthe wrong times, and your
digestion completely goes out ofsync.
And your sleep pressure, thatthing that helps you to not only
fall asleep, but stay asleep,gets weaker.
So you lie awake more, you tossand turn more, and then you
think you're behind on sleep.
So what do you do?
(06:45):
You try and catch up again, andthe cycle gets tighter.
This is why so many shiftworkers feel stuck.
And it's not the hours you'remissing, it's the time in chaos.
So many people I know that workon the two two-day shifts,
two-night shifts, four days offcycle really struggle with going
(07:09):
to sleep the night before theirfirst day shift.
Put your hand up.
I know so many people struggleto go to bed and sleep properly
before their first day shift,after a few days off.
And the reason for that isbecause you've been sleeping in
the day before and the daybefore that.
And what you've done is you'veactually phase shifted your
circadian rhythm.
(07:30):
So when you actually have to getthat 4:30, 445 alarm to get up
and go to work, you've wokenyourself up right in the middle
of a deep sleep cycle.
And that is what is causing youthe problem.
So here's the fix a consistentwake-up time.
Rog, I'm a shift worker.
I know, I get that.
(07:50):
But here's the simple and theboring and the most powerful
answer.
You've got to wake up at roughlythe same time every day.
Now, I don't care that you'vegot overtime until 12:30, one or
two, get up at the same time.
Don't push your circadian rhythmback.
You're not catching up on sleep,you're causing yourself more
problems.
(08:12):
Even after that bad sleep, evenafter that late night, even when
the temptation to stay in bed issuper strong and that snooze
button, bang, there it is.
The snooze button.
What I want you to do is get up.
Get up, open the curtains, getthat daylight, get outside, get
that natural light into youreyes.
Move your body a little.
(08:33):
Wander around the garden, go fora walk around the block, do
something.
Because this fixes a lot morethan what you actually think.
What you'll do what you've justdone is you've let your internal
clock lock into that pattern.
Your mood lifts, your appetiteactually steadies, your energy
evens out, and sleep, it becomeseven easier at night because you
(08:56):
are now working back in syncwith your rhythm and not against
it.
Now let's be real.
Rog, shift work is really hardon sleep.
And some days your tank isempty.
You finished at 2 a.m.
and you got home and you slept,and now Roger's telling you you
gotta get up at 7.
If you need a topping, a top-up,don't sleep in.
(09:18):
Here's your power theory don'thave a short nap.
Just 20 to 30 minutes.
That's all you need to do.
No longer.
Just 20 to 30 minutes just torelease that sleep pressure
without pushing your body clockaround.
This will not impact on yoursleep at night.
It will give you a circuitbreaker and it will keep you
(09:39):
alert during the day.
But it doesn't disrupt yourrhythm the same way as a long
morning sleeping does.
Think of it as a safety valve.
It helps with the cost.
So here's where the magichappens.
Now you can't catch up on sleep,but you can bank it.
This means going to bed earlieron days when you know you have a
(10:03):
tough run ahead.
Now, shift workers should thinkof sleep the way athletes think
of hydration or nutrition.
You load it before the stresshits.
Now banking sleep builds abuffer, it reduces the cognitive
hit you take during the nightsor the early starts.
It will help to make you morealert.
(10:23):
And it's a strategy which isused in research and elite
performance settings all thetime.
And it's simple.
Don't push your bedtime tilllater.
Actually bring it forward.
Even 30 to 60 minutes extra fora few nights can actually make a
huge difference long term.
Your body can work with thisbecause it supports your
(10:44):
circadian rhythm instead ofbreaking it.
And this is the real catching upon sleep.
It's just done before thedeficit and not after it.
So here's a simple strategy foryou as a shift worker.
A clear plan that you canactually use right away.
Look at your roster and pick awake-up time the same time every
(11:08):
day and protect that, roughlyaround that time.
6 30, 7 30, thereabouts.
Let this be your anchor and haveeverything else revolve around
that.
Number two, once you wake, getoutside within 30 minutes.
Light resets your body clock.
(11:28):
It tells your body to suppressthe sleep hormones.
It tells your body to get you upand about and elevates cortisol
for you to get going.
Move your body early.
Even just a short walk round theblock will help and make a
difference.
What you've done then is you'vehit another one of the key light
givers or the key time giversthat our circadian rhythm needs.
(11:52):
Number four, don't sleep in tocatch up.
But use a power nap as yourmaster stroke.
And then bank sleep before heavyshifts.
Go to bed earlier, not later.
Going into night shift, go tobed earlier.
Get a good solid night's sleep.
Start banking sleep knowing thatyou're not going to sleep
(12:15):
properly going through thenights.
This will make a big difference.
And number six, make sure youkeep a calm and pre-sleep
routine.
Use the same routine every timeyou go to bed, and you will be
keying your body into ah, thisis what we do when we go to
sleep.
Dim the lights.
Slow everything right down.
(12:35):
Let the body wind down.
Have a hot shower.
Let the body cool so you'reready for sleep.
These steps help to stabilizeyour rhythm.
It will help to keep yourhormones so important, keep them
steady, and to give you a bettersleep quality over time.
And when your rhythm is ready,everything else feels easier.
(12:57):
Sorry, when your rhythm issteady, everything else feels a
lot easier.
Your energy, your mood, yourhunger, the PBs in the gym, and
your recovery will all improve.
So I want you to remember this.
Feeling tired doesn't mean thatyou're behind on hours.
(13:18):
It often means that your rhythmis completely out of alignment.
And you can't repair that bysleeping in.
But what you can do is stabilizeit with a steady wake-up time,
with morning light, withmovement, and sleep banking.
And if you want help working outa sleep plan that fits your
roster and your life and yourenergy needs, I can absolutely
(13:43):
help you with that.
And there are links in the shownotes to get in touch with me.
I want to say thanks forlistening.
Take care of yourself and makeyour next shift a healthy shift.
But don't sleep in.
Thank you for listening.
(14:03):
If you enjoyed this episode, besure to subscribe so you get
notified whenever a new episodeis released.
It would also be ever so helpfulif you could leave a rating and
review on the app you'recurrently listening on.
If you want to know more aboutme or work with me, you can go
to ahealthyshift.com.
I'll catch you on the next one.
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