Aging and Age Decline — The Truth About the Book - The Shift Worker's Paradox

There’s a line between aging and decline. One is part of being alive. The other is how we respond to it.

I’ve worked nights for ten plus years. Mid-fifties now, and some mornings, it hits me before I even move—both knees shot, joints stiff, body heavier than it should be. I carry the weight of years of missed sleep, skipped meals, and the quiet belief that I could outwork biology. I can’t. None of us can.

There are days I wake up and feel terrible. Everything hurts. I don’t say that for sympathy—I say it because it’s real. Aging doesn’t just happen in the mirror; it happens in the bones, the soft tissue, the mind. You start to feel the pull of responsibility, of fragility, of time reminding you that it always wins.

The truth is, The Shift Worker’s Paradox isn’t some master plan for perfect health. It’s an honest reckoning. If I had followed every principle in the book for the last few decades—eaten better, moved more intentionally, slept when I should have—I’d feel better. Less broken. Less desperate.

But here’s what I’ve learned: you can overcome. You can transcend the limits you once thought were permanent. You can rebuild, even when it feels like the damage is too deep. The body still listens, still adapts, still wants to heal.

This book isn’t about perfection—it’s about possibility. It’s about realizing that decline doesn’t have to define the second half of your life. It’s about finding balance between what time takes and what we can still give back to ourselves.

I didn’t write it because I had it all figured out. I wrote it because I was falling apart—and wanted to stop.

Author: R.E. Hengsterman, MSN, MA, M/E., RN

Registered nurse, night-shift clinician, and author of The Shift Worker’s Paradox

For educational purposes only. Not medical advice.