The Shift Worker’s Paradox: A Book for Every Shift Worker — Written by a Nurse Who’s Lived It

R.E. Hengsterman
4 days ago
3 min read

picture of the shift workers paradox book and eBook

We weren’t built to live against the clock.

Yet millions of us do — trading daylight for fluorescent light, dinners for vending machines, and deep sleep for the shallow rhythm of survival. The Shift Worker’s Paradox pulls back that curtain. Written by registered nurse and author R.E. Hengsterman, this book dives deep into the biology, psychology, and humanity of working nights — and what it costs the body to keep going when the world sleeps.

But it isn’t just another sleep manual or productivity guide. It’s a map — for nurses, first responders, factory techs, dispatchers, and anyone who lives by a schedule the sun never signed off on.

A Book for Every Shift Worker — But Written by a Nurse, for Nurses

This book began on the night shift — in hospital corridors echoing with monitors and exhaustion. Hengsterman wrote it for the people who know that “just getting rest” isn’t a real plan. Nurses who feel their pulse sync with the IV pump. The ones who’ve watched the sunrise through the ambulance bay and wondered what it’s doing to their body, their mind, their relationships.

It’s part science, part story, and entirely lived experience.

Ten Things You’ll Learn from The Shift Worker’s Paradox

How the Night Shift Rewrites Your BiologyLearn how circadian rhythms govern everything — hormones, digestion, cognition — and what happens when your work schedule fights your natural timing.
The Real Science of FatigueExplore why sleep debt isn’t just tiredness — it’s a neurochemical imbalance that impairs reaction time, metabolism, and emotional regulation.
How to Reclaim Sleep (Without Quitting Nights)Evidence-based tools drawn from chronobiology, including light exposure timing, melatonin optimization, and environmental conditioning that actually works.
What "Circadian Adaptation" Really MeansUnderstand how your body can partially adapt to night shifts — and how to use food, light, and movement to support that adaptation instead of fighting it.
The Role of Nutrition and TimingWhy when you eat can be as important as what you eat. Learn how late-night glucose spikes, caffeine timing, and hydration shape alertness and recovery.
The Psychology of Working While the World SleepsThe emotional cost of missing daylight, family rhythms, and social connection — and how to find meaning in unconventional hours.
What Chronic Sleep Disruption Does to MetabolismA clear breakdown of how disrupted circadian alignment links to insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, and hormonal imbalance — especially for women.
Resilience Strategies That Actually WorkPractical guidance from research and lived experience: within-shift movement breaks, within-block recovery plans, and long-term “work-span” adaptation.
The Hidden Health Inequities of Shift WorkHow night work disproportionately affects nurses, women, and essential workers — and why systemic change in healthcare staffing and policy is long overdue.
How to Rewrite Your Own Shift Work StoryTools for reflection and recovery: from sleep routines and micro-rituals to boundary setting, circadian respect, and reclaiming agency over your time.

What Makes This Book Different

Most books about sleep were written by scientists studying shift work.This one was written by someone living it.

The Shift Worker’s Paradox combines decades of bedside nursing experience with cutting-edge research in chronobiology, neuroscience, and behavioral health.

R.E. Hengsterman translates the science of fatigue into human language — connecting data to the decisions nurses make at 3 a.m. when alarms blur with heartbeat.

The book features:

Real-world strategies tested by shift workers, not just researchers.
Case studies from healthcare and other industries.
Chronotherapeutic insights — how to time light, food, and exercise for resilience.
A “Shift Worker’s Hack Guide” at the end of each chapter with actionable, science-backed tips.

Why It Matters Now

Fatigue has become the silent pandemic of modern work.Shift work is essential — but it’s also hazardous.

The Shift Worker’s Paradox is a call to awareness, a guide for survival, and a blueprint for change — for individuals and institutions alike.

Because being tired isn’t a personal failure. It’s a biological signal we’ve ignored for too long.

About the Author

R.E. Hengsterman, MSN, MA, M.E., RN is a registered nurse, medical writer, and educator with more than three decades of experience in healthcare. His writing bridges clinical expertise and narrative craft, appearing in over fifty literary journals and medical publications. He is also the author of The Paper Boy and The Winter War and the creator of The Nurse Who Writes.