You are a worker not a machine

You woke up tired today, didn't you?

You probably told yourself you would catch up on sleep this weekend. You probably said the same thing last weekend.

Or maybe you said sleep is for rich men.

Sleep is not laziness. Sleep is survival.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified night shift work involving disrupted sleep as a potential carcinogen. Let that sink in. The same category of concern as harmful chemicals and toxic exposures. Your body was not designed to run on fumes indefinitely, and science is now confirming what your body has been telling you for years.

What happens when you don't sleep?

The effects are not subtle. Poor sleep causes memory loss and cognitive decline, making it harder to think clearly and make good decisions. It weakens your immune system, leaving you vulnerable to infections. It raises your risk of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. It fuels anxiety and depression. It shortens your life. For healthcare workers, teachers, drivers, traders and anyone keeping Nigeria running through long and brutal hours, these are not statistics. They are daily realities.

So how do you actually sleep when life will not slow down?**

Start with what you can control.

Keep a consistent sleep time, even on weekends. Your body thrives on rhythm. A sleep schedule that changes every day confuses your internal clock and reduces sleep quality even when you do get hours in.

Wind down intentionally. The thirty minutes before bed matter enormously. Dim your lights, step away from your screen and let your brain receive the signal that the day is ending.

Watch what you consume in the evenings. Caffeine taken after 2pm can still be active in your system at midnight. That evening cup of tea or soft drink may be costing you more than you realise.

Habits to drop right now

Scrolling your phone in bed is one of the most destructive sleep habits in modern life. The blue light suppresses melatonin, the hormone your body uses to trigger sleep, and the content keeps your brain alert when it needs to be winding down. Phones down, face down, thirty minutes before sleep.

Stop using the weekend as your sleep savings account. You cannot meaningfully recover five nights of poor sleep in two days. Chronic sleep debt accumulates and the damage it causes is not fully reversible by a single long lie-in.

Do not ignore your body when it signals exhaustion during the day. A ten to twenty minute nap where possible is not weakness. In many high-performance cultures around the world it is standard practice.

Dear night shift workers,

You carry a particular burden and it deserves particular acknowledgement. If your work demands nights, protect your sleep with even more intention. Sleep in a dark, cool room during the day. Use blackout curtains. Communicate your rest needs to your household. Your sleep is not negotiable and the people around you need to understand that.

Not a luxury. Not something you will get to eventually. A priority. The same way you prioritise showing up to work, eating and keeping your commitments to others, keep your commitment to rest.

You cannot pour from an empty cup. You cannot build a nation, raise children, serve patients or drive progress on a body that has been denied its most basic need.

Sleep is not the enemy of productivity. It is the foundation of it.

Rest well. Happy Workers Day and Happy new Month