Welcome to the Shift Work Series. In this first episode, Sarah Woodcock opens up about something she doesn't think we talk about enough — what shift work really does to your body, beyond just being tired.

Drawing on years in aviation, finishing flights at 5am, waking at 3am for duty and never knowing what time zone her body is in, Sarah explains how shift work disrupts the natural rhythms that run our sleep, digestion, hormones and energy. She gets honest about the "tired but wired" feeling, the emotional flatness you can't always explain, the constant sense of recovering from the last shift, and how hormones and perimenopause add another layer that no one warns you about.

This is the foundation for everything the series covers next — fitness, sleep, hormones, mindset, menopause and burnout — because it all connects back to how we live and work in this environment. There's no perfect routine and no punishing yourself here. Just why listening to your body, protecting your recovery and letting go of perfection will get you further than pushing through ever will.

If you work shift work, or you've ever felt like your body just doesn't feel like it used to, you're not alone.

Next episode: sleep — why you can sleep for eight hours and still feel exhausted, and what actually helps.

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