Sleep On Ep6: Preventing burnout with former NHS doctor, fitness influencer and runner, Dr Becca Salmon

In the latest episode of the 'Sleep On' podcast, I welcomed former NHS doctor Dr. Becca Salmon, who shared her transformative journey from medicine to becoming a social media influencer, highlighting the high risks of burnout among healthcare workers.

Becca started posting on social media during the covid pandemic. She shared her mental health struggles, her fatigue, and how fitness started to help her. Her messages resonated and she quickly grew a huge audience.

Becca hadn't realised that few people in her position, as junior doctors, were really talking publicly about their feelings.

I don't think I realized how much burnout was such a taboo topic until people were saying you're so brave for talking about this or I can't believe you're speaking about this. And I was like, oh my gosh, should I have not been speaking about this?

Becca thinks that the medical profession attracts people who are particularly vulnerable to burnout - perfectionistic, type A personalities, people who are always striving to do well, and caring for others. There are social and environmental factors too - a high workload, where you'll never get enough done. "You're not necessarily praised by your seniors. Where there's a lack of money, lack of funding, too much work.. that fuels burnout." Lack of sleep is also a contributory factor, and for hospital medics working night shifts, it's very difficult to get enough restorative sleep.

I asked Becca how burnout manifested for her..

The last six months of when I was working, I would start the rota, like, really energized, really keen. I was like, I love medicine. This is amazing. And then I'd gradually start getting a bit more tired, a bit more kind of like snappy at work. My relationships started breaking down outside of work because I didn't have the energy to give to them. I found that I'd give all my energy at work, and then I'd come home and instead of it being Free time. It would be recovery time. I couldn't live my life outside of work because I needed to preserve all that energy to turn up to work.

And then I started getting a lot more teary.. I can't stop crying. And then I stopped having as much empathy or care at work or stopped having as much want to do well, which in the healthcare system is a very dangerous game. That's when I was like, I need to take a step back, because why can't I give what I want to give? And then I would take a couple weeks off work, feel better, then come back to work. And then I noticed it was only at work when I was working that I was feeling this way.

Becca and I talked a lot about how to prevent burnout, which is a build up of chronic stress. She stressed the importance of admitting when you're feeling tired, and talking to your manager about options to change your role, or look at getting more support. You might be able to change your shifts, or your ward. You also need to look at personal and lifestyle factors - what can you change to improve self-care?

The key thing is not to bottle things up..

The main, main factor that I always recommend to people though, is to reach out, reach out to someone and tell someone how you're feeling as well. I think I kept it bottled up for so long because I didn't want to tell anyone that I was struggling.

Becca found it very useful to use a sleep tracker to hold herself accountable. She also started taking magnesium and zinc supplements, and started wearing an eye mask and ear plugs. She also purposefully cut down on caffeine and sugar. After a night shift she'd have a piece of toast to avoid hunger, and then wind down for sleep.

Becca also talked about the difficulties of sleep during her marathon training. She would work, then run, then fall into bed, only to wake up starving hungry with aches and pains. She has learned to prioritise foam rolling and massages, as well as recovery nutrition.

Becca also set up The Healthcare Club to help inspire other healthcare workers to run, and to support each other to adopt healthier lifestyles.

You can hear the full interview here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4TAfssF9sl8vNgNCdHABP1?si=8176275b3e6e4c1d