The Get Healthy Tampa Bay Podcast

E100: Thriving Through the Night Shift: Health Tips with Dr. Yel’Ora

• Kerry Reller

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Welcome to the Get Healthy Tampa Bay Podcast with Dr. Kerry Reller! This week, I’m joined by Dr. Chinyelu Oraedu, also known as Dr. Yel’Ora, a board-certified internal medicine physician, nocturnist, and founder of a coaching program dedicated to night shift workers. In this episode, we dive into the unique health challenges faced by night workers, the impact of disrupted circadian rhythms, and strategies for thriving—both personally and professionally—while working against the clock. Dr. Yel’Ora shares her personal journey, expert tips, and a vision for a healthier night shift experience.

Dr. Chinyelu E. Oraedu, also known as Dr. Yel'Ora, is a Board-Certified Internal Medicine physician and the founder of the Dr. Yel'Ora Lifestyle & Obesity Coaching Program for Night Workers. Her innovative platform focuses on helping night shift workers regain health, lose weight, and feel confident in their appearance. Dr. Oraedu brings over two decades of clinical experience in Nigeria, Oman, and the United States, currently serving as an Academic Hospitalist-Nocturnist at Stamford Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

In addition to her medical practice, Dr. Oraedu is an author, speaker, and former radio host of The Night Shift Lifestyle w/Dr. Yel'Ora on WICC 600 AM. She is also an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University's Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, where she mentors medical students. Her professional affiliations include the American Medical Association (AMA), American College of Physicians (ACP), and Society for Hospital Medicine (SHM). She also co-chairs The Origins Art Foundation, a nonprofit that fosters creativity, innovation, and sustainability among youth.

Dr. Oraedu's passion for improving the health of night workers stems from her personal transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. After struggling with weight gain and developing type 2 diabetes, she took accountability and worked with coaches to overhaul her lifestyle. Inspired by this journey, she created her coaching program to address the unique health challenges faced by night shift workers, promoting sustainable wellness strategies and partnering with businesses to prioritize worker health.

00:29 - Introduction of Dr. Yel'Ora
02:00 - Journey to Becoming a Nocturnist and Coach
04:45 - Challenges of the Night Shift Lifestyle
07:45 - Understanding Circadian Rhythms
11:07 - Health Risks Associated with Night Shift Work
14:51 - Key Strategies for Thriving on the Night Shift
20:20 - Sleep Tips for Night Shift Workers
24:59 - Navigating Relationships and Family Life
29:03 - How to Work with Dr. Yel'Ora
33:26 - Closing Thoughts and Key Takeaways

Connect with Dr. Yel’Ora
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dusktodawnmd?_t=8rSof9jNzSw&_r=1
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dusktodawnmd?si=OxC9bCgKadYWEQVM
Twitter: @DrYelOra
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066781772391&mibextid=kFxxJD
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/chinyelu-oraedu-m-d-a4a01b87

Connect with Dr. Kerry Reller
Podcast website: https://gethealthytbpodcast.buzzsprou... 
My linktree: linktr.ee/kerryrellermd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerryrellermd/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClearwaterFamilyMedicine
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clearwaterfamilymedicine/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kerryrellermd
Clearwater Family Medicine and Allergy website: https://sites.google.com/view/clearwa...
Podcast: https://gethealthytbpodcast.buzzsprou...

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Dr. Reller:

Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the Get Healthy Tampa Bay podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Kerry Reller. And today we have a very special guest, Dr. Chinyelu Oraedu. Welcome to the podcast.

Dr. Yel'Ora:

Thank you so much. Thanks for having me, Kerry.

Dr. Reller:

Yes. And so it's so nice to have you and I appreciate your acceptance to coming on the podcast. We are really excited to hear about what you have to say and what you've gone through. So why don't you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do?

Dr. Yel'Ora:

So, I mean, thank you again, Kerry. My name is Chinnyalo Oredu. I'm a physician and most people know me also as Dr. Yel'Ora. Yel'Ora is It's, it's my name, it's the, the later part of Chinyelu and the first three words of Oraedu my last name, so kind of represents my night shift. You know, I go to work at the later part of the day the evening time, you know, during dusk and I emerge during dawn in the morning. Uh, I work mostly as a nocturnist inpatient setting. So I've been a nocturnist for over a decade, surprisingly. I don't know how I, I survived it, but I've been surviving it. But the thing is that, eh, I just had twins and my husband works in New York City because I live in Connecticut. And it kind of made sense that we just had to raise our children and we had to work, overlapping shifts. And but as a result of that, I just was able to dabble into so many things. I had my daytime hours, those times I was, you know, the days I was off. And I think the pivotal time was when the pandemic happened. The pandemic was really hard on me and some people who work nights too, because remember, we had to go to work at night and then come back home in the morning to be parents and teachers and educators. And so it really got me thinking that maybe there's just a way we could just collectively as people who work nights because, you know, as hospitals, we, even, even nurses say that too. You have like day shift, and you have night shift problems. so that was kind of the light bulb that went off. And I just started to look into, you know, circadian and metabolic health of people who work night shift. and then with that, I was struggling too, you know, when I started my, my internship. Well, you know, as a nice shape doctor and I just got into coaching and a lot of personal development and, and mindset shifting. And that's how I became a coach. I went through the training process, but besides being a coach, I also like to write I've been involved in projects and I was part of Sharon's book thriving after burnout. Yeah, I, I contributed in that, in that book with, you know, the female physicians and book about immigrant women. So writing and storytelling is what got me into internal medicine because, I listen to stories and kind of transcribe it into the whole medical language. So, so that's just, you know, a little bit about myself. I like to write, I like to cook. I like crafting, I have three beautiful kids and my husband, I have twin boys and my daughter and then the coaching thing, like I said the Toyalora Lifestyle and Obesity Coaching Program for was an idea that was born around the pandemic time and I started to like, you know, create a program, a, a, a process That people who work nights can actually go beyond survival. We don't want to survive, we want to thrive. People need to thrive when they work nights because people work nights for, you know, the best intentions. Beyond the financial perks of working nights, I want people to look beyond that and, you know, prioritize their health so they can minimize risk of chronic illnesses, right, and also optimize, you know, optimize some of the skill sets that night shift may kind of put on the forefront of your career because, you know, when you work nights, you have autonomy at most jobs because you show up and limit their staffing. So you make a lot of decisions as a night worker. So I think it's a skill set that people can actually write to like, kind of, pivot into other ventures. and that will be a good selling point for them. So that's the whole idea behind the coaching program that I do.

Dr. Reller:

Yeah, so you are internal medicine, so that means, and then you're a nocturnist, like you said, which means you're working at night, and usually you're like one week off, week off, on, on off, how does that work? Just so listeners kind of understand where you're coming from.

Dr. Yel'Ora:

I mean, there's so many kinds of, kinds of, you know, nocturnal schedule. I started, I started actually three nights a week, which was why I did it for such a long time. I was working only Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. So I had Friday through the weekend off every single weekend I was off. So I'm like, how do you trade that for like,

Dr. Reller:

It is pretty much. Yeah.

Dr. Yel'Ora:

So that's kind of what sucked me into it, but, you know, as time went on I just realized that it's just not sustainable to be working every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday night because kids have activities, you know, after school programs, parent meetings. So I kind of transitioned to seven on seven off. I said, Oh no, no, no. Seven on seven off is hard too. You know, by the fourth, fifth day your body is like shot. but the thing about most night shift and night shift work, and, and this is where administrators come in and when I talk about it, not just about the health aspects of it, because if you think about it for most people who are employed to some extent, your administrators or HR, you know, human resources, you have to always liaise with them in order to find the best schedule that will work for you. Okay. And what I'm trying to say is that I kind of found out that seven on seven off three nights a week, at the end of the day, the conversation has to be with my director, with human resource, how can we really find a schedule that will work for me as a mother, as a doctor, as a wife, you know, can I have like PTO, you know, paid time off and how, how easy is it for me to like, request to be off and the hospital can, find coverage. I think the flexibility of the schedule is scheduling for night shift workers is pretty much what matters the most.

Dr. Reller:

That makes sense.

Dr. Yel'Ora:

and I think that, go ahead.

Dr. Reller:

oh, I was going to say, you mentioned the pandemic. So basically you guys were in a really hard hit area, first of all. Right. And I think that, you know, you having working at night and then coming home and I'm assuming that your kids were at home and needed to be homeschooled. Right. And how old were they then?

Dr. Yel'Ora:

Oh, my kids were during the pandemic, my kids are in college, my boys are in college now. So that was like five years ago. They were like in middle school.

Dr. Reller:

Middle school. Okay. So yeah, they probably needed some guidance and motivation, perhaps if it's hard to get the kids to do the thing. So, I mean, yeah, you're working all night and then you come home and it's, you know, really stressful. And I can see how that can lead to even more increased burnout rate. How about you mention you know, metabolic health and circadian rhythm. Why don't you tell us, you know, what is circadian rhythm in the first place and how does that play a role here?

Dr. Yel'Ora:

so pretty much I mean, the circadian rhythm, it's, it's your internal clock, it's your body's internal clock and living things have circadian rhythm, even plants do have circadian rhythms too. So pretty much what that means is that human beings, you know, the cues and the physical cue that we have is, is light, sunlight, that is actually what, you know, gets the rhythm, kicks it off in the, in the morning time. You, you wake up and, you know, your cortisol goes up and. You know, you get energized and you go about your day. And of course, during the course of the day as, as the sun starts to set and the darkness starts to set in, you find that you're finding that you find out that the cortisol starts to, you know, kind of dip, you know, cortisol level, that the hormone part of the fight and flight hormone and your melatonin, which is the hormone that makes you sleep starts to rise. So it kind of peaks sometime after midnight, the melatonin, and that kind of coincides with when you're really very much fast asleep, you know, in kind of deep sleep. So for people who work night shift, the biggest problem you have is that you now have to fight to stay awake. You know, you're trying to go against the grain and you're kind of swimming upstream because at nighttime, when majority of people like in the U S about 84 percent of people work like nine to five schedule. So. So my program is for the 16 percent who work either, rotating nights or, permanent nights or once in a while they do work nights. So, so you find out that now you're trying to stay awake, you know, you're trying to swim upstream, you know, against the system, you know, circadian rhythm that is shutting down and, making you feel sleepy. And that's why most people will try to caffeinate, you know, to try to drink a lot of caffeine in order to, Stay awake. And of course, you find out people you know, at the workplace, some people leave the lights on. So these are all ways to help you to increase your level of alertness. And that is part of the problem because melatonin has been shown and studied a lot. And it's an anti inflammatory hormone in your body because inflammation creates a lot of you know, mayhem, including mutations. And. Which can lead to cancer and all that. And also melatonin is also an antioxidant. Because it helps the body to remove all the harmful toxins that happen most of the time when you're sleeping. so when I say metabolic health, I just pay attention to night workers to kind of minimize. It's more of, more of minimizing risk. Not totally eliminating it, but to, to minimize risk and, and to bring it to the forefront. So that people know. Not just, you know, you're thinking about the pay differential, thinking about, you know, that you're going to make more money as a night shift worker, but you also have to be aware of the risks involved in it so that you can kind of, transform or prioritize you know, important, you know, healthy habits that can help you to thrive. So that's just, what I do in the program because the more I've, I've been reading around this for like years now, and the more I just look around and read about it I mean, a lot of the studies, you know, First of all poorly understood, you know, some of the mechanisms of disease are not really well understood. And some of them are inconclusive too. but we

Dr. Reller:

why don't, why don't you spell out what are the health risks of night shift workers? What are those health risks that you're referring to? Stay

Dr. Yel'Ora:

the health risks associated with night shift that have been studied so far, because, I mean, there's been a big study that was done with the nurses, you know, the, you know, the nurses health study, I think that's the name of it, but the risk is, first of all, there's risk of obesity. People who work night, a bigger, you know, a higher risk of obesity. And when I, when I say obesity, it's more about like, you know, abdominal adiposity, like in, you know, the midsection, which is the one, you know I know subset of obesity that is associated with visceral fat, which we just, we really don't want. And the reason around that is, you know, There are, you know, the increased inflammation and, you know, the high cortisol level. So obesity is a trigger for a lot of health issues that we suffer today as, human beings, you know, with the epidemic. And of course, there's been studies that showed cancer, you know, the higher risk of breast cancer in shift workers. And that's why, you know, last month I was really, you got to get your mammogram, you know, early detection, early detection, and of course other chronic problems, type 2 diabetes. And part of the reason why type 2 diabetes is higher in people who work night shift is, if you remember the way the body is programmed to work, we shouldn't be eating at night. So, you know, human beings, part of the, you know, the whole circadian rhythm is at nighttime, you met, you know, the metabolic and hormonal processes that to like, you know, dip and, for you to continue if you continue eating you know, uncontrolled eating at night with, you know, will result in higher blood sugar. And of course, with that, your risk of diabetes will be higher. So you find out that when people are awake at night, like for people who work night shift, there's increased tendency to eat. You know, what are you eating because you're hungry or you're eating because you're bored or you're eating because you're, you want to stay awake. So, so it's so, I mean, it's like tweaking things here and there, you know, trying to like, you know, gentle tweaks and and also like, you know, a meal plan. And, you know, the whole idea of, of chrononutrition which is something that is kind of gaining popularity about how people should eat. Late hours, late, you know, how, what kind of food what, what, what, not what classes of food, you know, what low calorie, you know, high protein, how do you really eat? if you have to, you know, if you want to eat at night, what are those foods that are better avoided at night or, you know, late time eating? So, so I think it's something that is very helpful for people that work night shift for them to be aware of it. And then one more thing I have to add too, is that for most places, you know, most people I've worked with, you know, because I do share questionnaires from time to time, you find out that Most night shift workers don't have access to healthy foods at night even in the hospital setting, and part of the reason is that, you know, I mean, I've been at hospital that cafeteria close at 3 p. m. 3 p. m. The cafeteria is closed and you kind of wonder this is like a 247 you know facility, so that lack of access, then people have to eat whatever is available, and of course you know that, During the late hours, the kind of food you have access to are not really the healthiest of food. So these are some of the factors that contribute to night shift weight gain, obesity that people, can, can be a little bit more aware of it and just try to, make some shifts in there

Dr. Reller:

Yeah. So what are some key strategies that you recommend for the night workers to improve their health? Yeah.

Dr. Yel'Ora:

So the people I work with the first step I always like, bring to the forefront. I mean, I always, you know, I'm very upfront about, cause I work night. So I know the challenges and all that it is when it comes to food, you know, meal prep, it's extremely, very important that you pay attention to what you eat and to do that in your consciousness, you have to way ahead of your shift. You have to get ready for your night shift. I think that's what I'm trying to say. And to get ready for your night shift means that if you work seven days, then you have to, you know, whether you need to like, you know, refrigerate, make your food and then spread it out over the seven days and incorporate a lot of protein because proteins promote satiety, you know, so, so when you're trying to minimize calories, you need to have that feeling of fullness to, to avoid, because a lot of people eat at night because they want to stay awake. It's like. I mean, what are we eating today? You know, we're just passing it around and, and and, and it adds up. So, so the first thing I do you know as part of the, the program that I, that I run, you know, I, I emphasize on the quality of, of the food you eat. And, and also I, I also talk about as part of the wellness, you know, the support system that you have, you know, it, it's important that,'cause some people who work nights will, will, will, you know, come to me that, you know, they don't have supportive partners. And, and it does add to the stress of, of, of the job when, you know, the people around you don't really find ways to, support you that with your sleep, because you need to rest. It's important that families, you know, loved one neighbors really give you that space so that you can sleep. You can get as much, it's hard to sleep during the day when everybody else is. Over the weekend, you work into the weekend, kids at home and all that. But sleep is very important for somebody who, for everybody, but especially somebody who works night shift that really needs to catch up on lost sleep. And of course, when it comes to exercise, because studies have shown, you know, night shift workers are sedentary. There was a study that compared night nurses, daytime nurses. So I do like, you know you know, when I do social media, I teach people to find ways find joy in the simple things that you like. And I'll give you an example. I've tried going to the gym. I've tried paying for like a lot of you know personal trainers and all that, and they do work. Don't get me wrong. They, they, they work, they help you. but I think that when you decide that, you know, weight loss or a better lifestyle is something you desire, we have so many of equipment, you know, not, not just equipment, but I, I like the, the, you know, the flex bands. I like to work out with those things. And, what I kind of do online when I, you know, do social media is, I try to curate like a workout schedule that you can actually do at home that involves, but it's a flex band, a jump rope, a music, and you can. Because I have a 45 minute commute to work, I, I mean, I have music that I play over and over again. For 20 minutes, I listen to podcasts and then I make phone calls. So I have, I'm very routinized. I kind of chop up my, commute. So that music that really gets you moving, that you listen to over and over again. I think it's, you should curate it into a dance step that you like. And if it's like a four minute track, you can play over and over again for 20 minutes.

Dr. Reller:

That's

Dr. Yel'Ora:

play five.

Dr. Reller:

Yeah. Mm hmm.

Dr. Yel'Ora:

Yeah, you play five times. That's like 20 minutes. So it gets you moving. And, you know, you play over, you will exercise with, I mean, I see people who work out without music. I don't know how they do it, but I mean, I, I guess they're different. so this is like, a simple You know, workout routine that I do on the days I work that I just want to just maintain some level of physical activity because it really helps with, you know, the endorphins. And for me, it really helps me better. I like to work out in the morning time. And that's how my

Dr. Reller:

Yeah, I used to work out before I would go in, so I would do it at night if I was on night shift and that that was what I needed for sure. But let me summarize so one you said it's more like an awareness of that it's difficult, to be working at night and maintain health, right? You said there are higher risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, you even mentioned breast cancer, and obviously it's higher risk of being sedentary. So being aware of the situation, right, and doing everything you can to counteract it, because we're working against our bodies. So the other thing would be getting that rest and having that sleep. space, right? And making sure that your partner or family can make sure that you're going to get the rest that you need. And I mean, you mentioned a little bit about accountability as well. And then you mentioned about meal prepping, preparing your food because wherever you'd be working, they probably don't have a cafeteria open all night long, and I know in the hospitals in particular, you know, they're never healthy snacks that are there available, and I'm assuming that's in every other industry as well. So, kind of being prepared, right? Aware getting that space for sleeping. Did you have any other top tips for sleeping? Like, you know, suppressing the, I don't know, sunlight on your drive home or something like that?

Dr. Yel'Ora:

Yeah, you know, the whole idea of suppressing your sunlight on the way home, I think there's, I think the evidence is where it's, it's conflicting, actually evidence is conflicting because there have been studies that show that, you know, when people wear the light blocking glasses and, it decreases their level of alertness, you know, it could actually, you know, you know, just as you're trying, you know, To reset your rhythm so that you can sleep when you get home. But some people actually fall asleep while driving with those you know light blocking glasses. So it's very conflicting at this time. I think the most important thing for people who work night shift and who commute. I don't even, you know, people, I mean, I've done it for a long time and thank goodness my commute is about 40 minutes and I know when I just need to sleep or, you know, rest. I start driving. That's something I've been able to like, you know, my body, I, I just, I just know that I'm tired.

Dr. Reller:

point. Because 45 minute drive to me is a long commute. I would be passed out probably. So I definitely, like you said, I wouldn't be wearing those blocking glasses if that is the case. So that's a really good thing. It needs to be individualized to each person,

Dr. Yel'Ora:

Yeah. That's the thing about, you know, a night shift, it's not a one size fits all recommendations, you know out there. We don't have that. I think it's like a case by case person by person and even studies where you've had, you know, simulations of people working night shifts. that has shown that night shift workers can thrive with a little bit of support and personal accountability and, and oversight and. You know, almost like you know, like a hard turn effect, you know, when you watch people, they change the way they behave. So, there have been studies like that, but at the end of the day I think that everybody who works at night needs to really know what exactly, what works for them. But the bottom line is that you need to sleep, you need to eat healthier, you must have to find a way to exercise. Because it promotes longevity, but people ask me, okay, Laura, should I exercise or should I sleep after night shift? And I, my answer is always, my ready answer is, how do you feel? Your body is, is it's just your guide. I mean, how does your body feel? If you're tired, you sleep. If you feel like you have a little energy to put in a few minutes or 10, 15 minutes. Then you can do a little gentle workout because some night shift jobs have a high level of physicality, Some people do really hard work when they go at night. For some people, it's more mental. For some people, it's, it's a combination of both. So your body just tells you how you should function or how you should, you know, after your night shift, whether you should work out or you should just go straight to bed. And, and that kind of, you know, kind of gets me to the point of. Is there a better way to work night shift? And to that I say yes, there's really a better way that people can work night shift and that's really what I promote and what I talk about because studies have shown how long people should work nights, you know, technically you should not work night shift for more than 10 years, you know, the CDC had, a big study on this and of course the hours that you should work night shift and the legislature that has evolved regarding how people can work, should work night shift. That sometimes we have derailed from them, you know, sometimes we have modified them based on whether you work in a government agency versus in a private company. Because you should always get a night shift differential when you work at night. But interestingly, some people don't. So that's more of a legislative issue. But it's just about helping people to reimagine a better night shift experience. Because people not work nights for a reason. And for a season that that's what that's, that is how I try to summarize it. It's a reason on a season, whether that's your children, whether you need the money, whether it's what's available for now, or you like the autonomy of nightshift work. Some people just like the autonomy. They like to go in, do what they need to do and go home. And for some people, they just do it and they run a business during the day. So it's, it's evolved. I mean, night shift is just a product of, the globalization and commercialization and, and, and there are more people in the world. so we just need to like find ways to, to help this group of people who, I mean, I like to say that they do difficult things, but it is difficult because it's, It's kind of swimming upstream against your natural circadian rhythm

Dr. Reller:

Yeah. Hormones. So would you have any advice for night shift workers that struggle to maintain relationships and a sense of normalcy in their personal lives?

Dr. Yel'Ora:

oh, yes, I actually did a, I did record a podcast on that topic about, supporting your spouse who, who works night shift. And and I, I think that, communication is extremely, very important, especially for people in relationships and especially around this holiday season. I think holiday season. I mean, for me, it is really a very difficult time as somebody who works nights because most of the social events, adult social events, happen at night. And there are tons of them around this time. and for somebody who works days, you can go to work, come back and participate, but when you work at night, you know, it's like, you gotta go to work when the party is just about to, to begin. So the communication, with your spouse, if it's, if it's a problem in your relationship, then you have to stop that. That is something I actually do Advice people, you know, who, you know, couples. If your spouse is not doing well because you work night shift, I, I think you need to reassess and reevaluate your goals. It's time to stop. Because I, I, I was talking about it because I used, I mean, I have a radio show that I kind of took a little bit of a break from it. The Night Shift lifestyle show with Dr. Yel'Ora was a live radio show actually here in Connecticut. And. I talked about it during Mental Health Awareness Month, because I was shocked when I read that couples who work overlapping shifts actually do have a higher rate of divorce. I didn't know that. and the reason it's kind of made sense to me because you are always like, you know, crossing paths and never really sitting to like, you know, have conversation and like normal family, you know, dynamics and all that. So communication, it's the number one most important. And I mean, we hear it all the time, but. It's important that everybody has opportunity to, to add your views and talk about the difficulty and the challenges they may be facing. And sometimes, another thing again, I do encourage people to do is to delegate. really hard to think it's only if you work at night, you can do everything. You're going to come home and do laundry. You probably shouldn't, but he's not going to do it like you, you know, maybe your spouse, but at least. And now he's going to try his best, I hope. And, and the kids are going to have, you know, clean, clothes and up until, you know, when you're off and you have free time to do it the best or the best way you, you know, you like to you know, get it done. So delegation is, is extremely very important. Especially for couples just don't, don't try to do everything yourself because you really need to sleep. I emphasize a lot on the role of sleep for people who work nights, because I go to dance and people are like, Oh, I, you know, I get off my night shift and my wife wants me to go to my son's basketball game and, and she wants a guy is complaining, actually. And she wants me, you know, to be part of, you know, the family. You know, morning, weekend on, on Saturday mornings. And I, I, I just, I understand everybody it's, it's all in good faith and whole family life is, it's, it's just changing a little bit because of the stress of, of, of life and cost of living and, people just trying to just get ahead, I just recognize that. You know, our lives are changing, but the fundamental family unit still needs to be intact. So communication is the bedrock if it's not working then somebody needs to stop doing it. Yeah

Dr. Reller:

delegation, still get your sleep. I think you were alluding to maybe learning to say no if you have to as well, maybe. Right.

Dr. Yel'Ora:

Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Reller:

so if people wanted to find you or follow you or work with you, how can they do that?

Dr. Yel'Ora:

I'm very, I mean, I'm, I'm active on Instagram and on LinkedIn Instagram. I go by dusk to dawn MD, but Dr. Yel'Ora, if you put in Dr. Yel'Ora, I will pop up too. But I'm also the dusk to dawn MD. That was actually how I started before Yel'Ora now popped in. Oh, Dr. Yel'Ora makes sense. You know, it's like a shortened version of your, of your name that represents that. And on LinkedIn I go by. Dr. Yel'Ora at Chinyolo Radio. You can easily find me on LinkedIn. I, I, I'm very active there. Facebook. Yeah, I do Facebook, but maybe not as much, but my website is DrYel'Ora. com. Yeah, that's

Dr. Reller:

we can put all that in the show notes for sure. So what is there any one other piece of advice you'd like to leave for our listeners today?

Dr. Yel'Ora:

I just want people who work nights I mean, if you work night shift in any industry, you know, whether you're in healthcare, whether you work as law enforcement you know, all the other, you know, professions do night shift I do host like a live workshop I've done online before, but I host a workshop that actually kind of unearths, you know, I want to bring to the surface. I help you actually, you know, unearth all those challenges, obstacles, the pains that you have, and then we work our way through to how you can actually re imagine having a better night shift experience because you know why you work nights, you know I know why I work nights and I lost weight while working night shift and I lost weight to the power of coaching. I had a professional coach. And I also have a health and weight loss coach who kept me accountable. With the accountability, I was able to start doing it myself. And of course, looking to ways that I can help night shift workers for now. My focus is night shift because they do things that are hard. And I think that it's really hard for people who work night to really navigate a normal 9 to 5 world where they can actually find people who speak to the challenges that the face without just having like a, like a blanket you know, statement or, I try to channel my expertise and my life experiences as somebody who also works nights, of course, with a scientific evidence to finding what will work with for you as somebody who is going through that process. So a workshop is, is my best interactive kind of medium, you know, that I can help people the best, you know, the most. So, I, I work with, you know, residents who do night shift. I work with like I said, people in law enforcement or healthcare. And of course, the program that I have, because I, I'm actually, I created like a three step program that goes straight to the promise. So I would, I mean, I, I, it's, I'm going to be hosting it, by the beginning of the year, actually. So if people are interested I, I, you know, they can sign up if you go to my website at dr Yel'Ora website. You can, you know, indicate interest and I will send you the information. So it's like a three step process that will totally elevate your night shift experience. It elevates it for, for whatever reason that you work at night, you will show up at your job with more positivity less fatigue. And even after your shift, you will continue to experience the rewards of being with a coach who understands your non standard work hours, your unique challenges. So that's what I do. And I, I am just very passionate because I, I saw what the pandemic did to, people who were in not in good shape, you know, you know, people who are not, healthy or, it was horrible because I was working the night the first COVID patient came to Connecticut. With my colleague, you know, we admitted the index patient that had COVID and, you know, working nights seeing the mayhem that that unraveled you know, March 2020 and, you know, the months that followed, I just said that I just have to find a way to, to really help the people that I worked with for so many years. So it's something I'm, I'm passionate about and let's just, you know, help people to. To see things differently. And when we find out that they are not thriving, they're not doing well, let's encourage them to pivot.

Dr. Reller:

Yeah. I'm, I mean, I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I'm so glad that you did because you're clearly helping people now who really need the help too. So can totally turn your life around, even if you're still working night shift, if you implement some of the things that we've discussed today. So that's awesome. So we'll put all that information in the show notes and well, so much for coming on the podcast today. Today and joining us and giving us all your insight and your expertise. And if people, you know, want to reach out to you and follow you, we'll put that stuff in the show notes. And otherwise you guys can tune in next week for another episode of the get healthy Tampa Bay podcast. Bye.

Dr. Yel'Ora:

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you, Kerry.

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Dr. Kerry Reller

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