Shift work is now classed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a “probable carcinogen”. This is in part due to the disruption to sleep and all the health difficulties associated. There are, however, certain strategies we can use to minimise the difficulties arising from shift work.

In this 1-hour workshop we offer a guide for all who are interested in reducing the impact of shift work on their sleep and overall health. We explore the science of sleep, what sleep is, why we need it and what goes wrong with sleep and shift work. Using techniques and strategies from evidence-based therapies such as Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), we give practical advice on how to manage the effects.

Outcomes:

• Develop an understanding of what sleep is and why we need it. You will have an
  overview of sleep phases, different types of sleep and how much sleep we need

• Develop an understanding of what goes wrong with sleep and shift work. You will have an overview of the specific issues we face with shift work and sleep

• Develop knowledge on how to go about minimising the impact of shift work on sleep and health

• Develop skills and strategies to manage the impact of shift work, how to protect sleep and how to protect your health when dealing with shift work.

About Dr Maja Schaedel

Dr Maja Schaedel is a highly skilled and experienced Clinical Psychologist and a leading UK Sleep Expert. She has helped hundreds of people with their sleep difficulties, within the NHS and in The Good Sleep Clinic which she co-founded in 2019. Dr Maja has extensive experience working with people with sleep problems and mental health problems, having worked in the NHS for over 20 years. She currently works in the one of the UK’s leading sleep disorder centres at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and her NHS experience spans across a wide range of child and adult mental health services, including previous roles as Principle Clinical Psychologist at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and Head of Psychological Therapies at the Queen Victoria NHS Foundation Hospital. She is an advanced practitioner and has undergone further training in a range of interventions such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). She teaches on Clinical Psychology doctoral programmes and offers advanced psychological skills training to health professionals working with insomnia and other sleep difficulties. Maja regularly contributes to UK publications such as The Independent, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Bloomberg, CNS, Grazia, Glamour etc. She has also appeared in Channel 5’s “Breaking the Taboos” presented by Kate Thornton and Cherry Healey, bringing attention to the difficulties of sleep during the perimenopause and she has spoken on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour about women’s sleep issues.