Besides the physically draining aspects of having to get up at 3am to go into work or to soldier on through the middle of the night when you’re on night shift, there is something else which can deplete your energy levels even further and it’s called Your Inner Critic.

Your Inner Critic is simply a voice inside your head saying negative things about you with the intention of making you feel bad. This negative self-talk can be mentally and physically exhausting.

Your inner critic or inner voice can rob you of precious energy by bombarding your mind with negative and sometimes hurtful comments. In some instances this can make you question your ability and unravel your self-esteem.

In essence your Inner Critic can destroy your self-confidence and make you feel awful.

You may even have days when you feel like there is a little man sitting on your shoulder whispering into your ear reminding you of a time in the past when you did something wrong, which can be mentally and emotionally draining.

So not only do we often struggle with the physical demands of having to work irregular hours whilst working shift work, many of us underestimate what’s going on inside our brain and how it can unconsciously sap our energy levels.

In most cases this negative self-talk is completely irrational and self-defeating yet many of us actually believe them to be true.

Your inner critic can also put limitations on you by comparing yourself with other people, and even brush off a compliment given to you in good faith.

Do you remember the last time someone said something hurtful to you? How did it make you feel? Possibly quite deflated and unappreciated.

If fact unrelenting self-criticism can even lead to depression and anxiety as it harnesses feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

So how do you stop this inner critic or inner voice?

By silencing your Inner Critic and dragging out your Inner Coach to help energize and support you. Your Inner Coach is the calming, encouraging and nurturing voice inside of you.

It provides you with positive self talk.

Your Inner coach will help focus on your strengths rather than on your weaknesses which will help uplift and energize your physically exhausted body and make you feel mentally stronger.

If however, you feel at war with your Inner Critic and just can’t seem to find a way to stop the negative chatter inside your head, then you may like to enlist in some professional help and visit a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT focuses on your thoughts (both good and bad) and how your thoughts create feelings which in turn lead to certain behaviours.

When your thoughts are positive and encouraging, you automatically feel energized and have more of a spring in your step when you go into work each day.

As opposed to irrational, self-defeating thoughts which can leave you feeling fatigued and unmotivated – both at home and in the workplace.

So if you want to improve your energy whilst working shift work, enlist the help of your Inner Coach and at the same time – fire your Inner Critic. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy as it will require some work, particularly if you’ve had this negative chatter in your ears for quite a few years. But when positive self-talk outweighs the negative it can be one of the most uplifting and euphoric feelings you will ever have.

Surviving the rigours of night shift along with early and late shifts is a battle fought by many shift workers around the world. In fact walking around in a zombie-like state is often regarded as being “the norm” when you have to work 24/7.

Having spent 17 years of my own life revolving around an alarm clock which would pierce the silence of my bedroom at the most inhospitable of hour, sleep deprivation became not only a way of life – but it was my life.

And along with sleep deprivation comes a multitude of other issues – weight gain, depression, loneliness and even a feeling of helplessness.

All in all not a particularly good way to live.

But after 17 years of working shift work and desperately trying to find a way to stay healthy yet keep sane at the same time – I came to the realisation that surviving the perils of shift work and keeping your head above water can be done if you apply what I like to call ‘The Five Fundamentals of Shift Work’.

1. Be organised – if you’re not organised then you’re going to be struggling from day one. When you work a 24/7 roster there is no routine. Every day and every week is different so make things easier for yourself by getting organised the day before – it will save you a lot of heartache in the long-run. And when you apply these habits on a daily basis they will also help remove a lot of unwanted stress in your life which is definitely a good thing.

2. Make time for your friends and family – this is incredibly important. If you’re not careful you can end up leading a lonely life when you work 24/7 so it’s really important to find the time for friends and family. It can be a bit tricky around an erratic schedule but it can be done. Studies have shown people who live the longest have good social networks so make the effort to reconnect with your friends and loved ones.

3. Drink loads of water - water is hands down one of the easiest ways to help reduce the effects of chronic fatigue and the best part is it’s free! As Dr Batmanghelidj outlines in his book ‘Your Body’s Many Cries For Water: You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty. Don’t Treat Thirst with Medication’ , most of the population today suffers from tiredness because of dehydration which can be fixed quite easily by drinking more water every day.

4. Fuel your body up with nutrition – you cannot expect to feel energised if your diet consists of predominantly fast food. Your body needs nutritious food to keep it going (even more so when you’re running on next to no sleep) so only eat food which is going to energise you – not take it away. And that’s exactly what take away food does – it takes it away, sapping your energy as your body struggles to digest the toxic over processed food.

5. Surrender to sleep – if you’re tired then listen to your body. Nothing can replace sleep but a 20 minutes nap can make the world of difference as it allows your mind and body to switch off completely and re-energize. Just like you recharge your batteries when they get low, give your body a bit of a mini-boost by allowing it the time to recharge as well. It will thank you for even the smallest amount of sleep-time.

So don’t spend your life gasping for breathe and drowning amongst the erratic hours of shift work. Apply the Five Shift Work Fundamentals above and not only will you be able to keep your head above water despite having to work irregular hours, but you’ll also begin to feel much healthier and happier in your shift working job as well.