Shift Work Sleep Disorder
“I Am On A Shift Job, How Can I Deal with
This?”
Most of the people who work during the night suffer from
Shift Work Sleep Disorder, which is also known as SWSD. This
disorder has affected about one quarter of the approximately
20 million people who do shift work.
People who are affected by shift work sleep disorder are
employed in many types of jobs. These people are large numbers
of workers in industries such as transportation, manufacturing,
mining, power, health care, and emergency services including
police and firefighters and EMTs. Many of these industries
tend to operate 24/7 and many various shift schedules exist.
Working a shift job tends to force your body to function
outside of its natural circadian rhythm. Their circadian rhythms
never become fully adjusted to their hours. No matter how
long a person works at night, when they are greeted by the
morning sunlight a signal is sent to their brain saying it
is time to wake up. A person who suffers from this sleep disorder
lives in a state of constant circadian disruption.
There are a couple of coping strategies for those with shift
work sleep disorder. The most important thing to remember
when coping with the challenges of shift work is to recognize
the importance of sleep and making it a priority.
Sleeping during the daytime can also be very difficult for
some people. Other than going against the body's natural circadian
rhythm, there are also the sunlight and the everyday life
of the rest of the world and most of them being awake. Many
people who suffer from this sleep disorder move their bedroom
to an isolated place in the house and try to make the room
as quiet and dark as possible.
If you plan to go sleep right after your night shift, it
is best for you to avoid as much of the morning sunlight as
possible. You might want to put on sunglasses on the way home
and try not to stop for gas or groceries. The more sunlight
you are exposed to, the more likely you are going to have
a hard time falling asleep.
People with this sleep disorder should reduce the amount
of caffeine during the later part of their shift. Some people
set a caffeine cutoff time, after that they drink juice or
water.
From here we can see that not everyone is able to tolerate
working during the night. The constant battle with this sleep
disorder may cause some people to find a different job.
| 
