Undeniably sleep deprivation rates as one of the largest causes of shift worker fatigue when you work outside normal working hours. It also explains why so many of us wander around in a delirious state of mind, at times unsure exactly what day of the week it is.

And considering we are living in a world where we are subjected to constant information and interruptions, have you ever thought how your mobile phone may be adding to this fatigue?

Well if you are like me, probably not because we all love our mobile phones – well outside of work anyway.

However spending a lot of time on your mobile phone when you work shift work may not be particularly good for you because it can sap your energy.

Quite literally information overload causes fatigue.

In most workplaces today we are inundated with emails, mobile phones, alarms, pagers an array of other things, all vying to grab our attention.

In fact some studies have found emissions from mobile phones can even cause sleep disturbances and depression. Not a particularly good mix when you work shift work.

So given its 2012 and we’re living in such a high tech environment, it can be a bit tricky to eradicate all of this unwanted “noise” and constant interruptions. But there are things that you can do which can make a huge difference in your mental fatigue, like taking some time out to silence the mind . By this I mean shutting out all of the noise and chatter, and just relaxing – both mentally and physically.

When you silence the mind you block out incoming messages from entering both your physical and mental space.

It’s a bit like turning a switch to the ‘off’ position. Or putting it on pause, at the very least.

Now when I first started shift work nearly 20 years ago, I desperately needed help with my fatigue. So much so I decided to spend an entire week at a Health Retreat in the beautiful hinterland region of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

At the time I was 23, but felt almost 50.

Now as a part of the ‘terms and conditions’ for staying at this health retreat – all phones, newspapers, radios, TV’s and computers of any kind were contraband. Not only were we going to improve our physical health by exercising and eating well, but we were also going to clear out all of the mental clutter (be it for just one week) – to help rejuvenate our mind to where it should have been.

Fast forward 7 days – I left that health retreat a completely different person.

As I sat back in my car and began the long drive back along the highway I felt like I had been away for a month. The time away from phones, TV’s and computers had worked wonders on my mental and physical health.

Of course we can’t all go and book ourselves into a health retreat every week. A pity really because I must admit, I got quite used to having someone cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for me every single day! But even though it’s not easy to eliminate all of the mental ‘noise’ completely, you can reduce it to one which is less noisy and distracting.

Try doing the following for just one day and notice how much better you feel both physically and mentally.

1. Turn off the TV. Engage in conversation instead of watching others in conversation on the telly. It’s much more restful when you don’t have to be subjected to the blaring ad breaks every 5 minutes.

2. Avoid Social Media. In today’s world so many of us have become glued to things like Facebook, Bing, Twitter and YouTube – it has quite literally taken over our life. Have a ‘No Social Media Day’ and get outside in the fresh air instead. Go for a walk, a swim or catch up with a friend and have a real conversation instead of one via a computer or hand held gadget.

3. Turn off your mobile phone. Believe it or not – you can survive without your mobile phone. If people want to contact you, they will find a way. Having your phone with you 24/7 is only adding to your mental clutter which in turn adds to your fatigue.

So if you really want to reduce your shift worker fatigue turn off your mobile phone, telly and computer – even if it is just for one day. Mankind has managed to survive without all of these things for hundreds of years so I’m sure you will be fine without them for just 24 hours .

When you work shift work it’s really easy to snack on all sorts of junk food. If you’re feeling fatigued all of the time you just want to grab the fastest source of food you can get yours hands on.

And for most shift workers, this typical shift work diet falls into the ‘very unhealthy’ category.

I know because I used to be one of them.

Chips, chocolate, lollies, soft drink, fast food burgers – you name it and I’ve tried it.

The only trouble with this lifestyle, is eating junk food severely adds to your fatigue.

Have a think about this.

If you eat a packet of potato chips which are laden with fat, salt, and preservatives how is it going to give you more energy? Your body is going to think – “What on earth is this?” or more importantly, “how am I going to digest these potato chips because they’ve undergone so much human intervention.”

Your body simply does not recognise this type of food.

You see the actual process of digestion expends a great deal of energy, so if you’re already struggling from exhaustion then you’re only contributing to your fatigue when you eat these types of highly processed foods.

Your body is an amazing machine.

It can put of with a lot of junk but it will always struggle to digest highly processed food because it quite simply does not know HOW to digest it. As a result, not only will you feel really tired soon after eating this food, your body will receive little if any nutrition at all.

If anything, you are just loading up your body with toxic substances making you feel even more tired.

What’s really interesting is in most developed countries today, people are severely malnourished.

Not because we don’t have an abundant source of nutritious food (quite the contrary), but because we’re eating all of the wrong foods. Foods that were not grown from the earth containing all of the essential vitamins and nutrients our body needs in order to stay healthy and function at its peak.

So I’ve decided to share with you one of my favourite shift work snack recipes to help steer you away from this toxic junk food path. It’s about eating more raw foods, that is, foods which are as close to their original state as possible.

And the best part about this shift work snack is you can have your chocolate and eat it too!

Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Cacao Balls

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds
1 cup softened dates
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup gogi berries
3 heaped dessert spoons of Organic Raw Cacao Powder
1 tsp vanilla concentrate
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons tahini paste
Desiccated coconut for rolling

Soak dates overnight or simmer until soft. Process all ingredients (except the coconut) in a food processor and then place into the fridge for 30 minutes. When cool, shape into balls and roll in desiccated coconut (makes about 20).