As we get ready to close the door on 2015 and make way for 2016, I’m in a bit of celebration mode right now and it’s not even New Year’s Eve!
If you’re wondering why it’s because my end of semester University results have been published, and I’m happy to report I managed to pass everything.
Phew! A major relief.
This means I’m officially about to head into my final year of my Nutritional Medicine degree and I could not be happier – be it a little bit nervous at the same time.
However I’m even more proud of myself (and I’m sure you will be able to relate to this one), because for years I struggled to remember things – which I put down to a life of continual sleep-deprivation.
After a string of early shifts, I would often struggle to concentrate and make decisions, and even felt a little “forgetful” at times.
Not ideal for someone who, at the time, was only in her 30’s.
However as I was scrolling through a pile of research papers, I stumbled across a study of 1484 shift workers which confirmed a strong association between working 24/7 and impaired cognition, particularly if you’d worked shift work for more than 10 years (*).