Based just outside Belfast, I’m a busy husband, dad to two boys, and a 20-year shift lab worker (and still counting—until my lottery numbers come up). Shifts can put a lot of demands on an individual’s time and energy and may limit training time, but the benefits of training, despite these challenges, are numerous for health and wellbeing. Striking the right balance, however, is key.

Shift work brings about a unique set of challenges. You constantly fluctuate in and out of sync with the rest of the world. Trying to sleep when your body’s natural circadian rhythms are telling you to be awake and then to function in a work environment while you should be asleep, not to mention the dreaded change coming off nights and getting yourself out of vampire mode and functioning like a real person again. When I asked some work colleagues to describe it, they all agreed it’s like a permanent state of jet lag.