How to Deal with Shift Work Sleep Disorders
October 6th, 2008 | by zoe |If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
If you discover that you are unable to work for the number of hours you did previously, or if the price of shift working is finally starting to wear on your health, you could be experiencing shift work sleep disorder or SWSD. This complaint might mean that you are increasingly drowsy through the daytime but unable to sleep while struggling to keep yourself from falling asleep on the job when working the night shift. Here are some things that you can do in order to treat the symptoms.
The most obvious cure is to try to alter your work schedule to hours that are more sociable. By working at night, you are confusing your body’s internal clock, called the circadian rhythm, which regulates itself with the rising and setting of the sun to recognize when it is time to wake and sleep respectively. Shift work pushes your body into an abnormal state of working when it should be asleep and sleeping when it would ordinarily be awake. This is the reason that you feel sleepy during the night and then cannot drop off during the day although you are very tired. Therefore, if feasible, it is in your best interests to have a chat with your work supervisor to see if shift changes can be made.
Here are some sleep strategies for shift workers that you may like to try. If you must work your shift, it is a good idea to keep away from caffeinated drinks while you are working, and particularly right before you go to sleep. Caffeine dries the respiratory tracts, and may work as a stimulus for a while, but will make you feel even more tired and lethargic after the buzz wears off. This could cause sleep apnea syndrome in many folks, let alone excessive snoring. So, try to drink fruit crushes, or ask your doctor about natural supplements you can take while you work.
Other symptoms associated with shift work sleep disorder include insomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness. The latter is closely connected with a chronic neurological disorder termed Narcolepsy where a sufferer might find themselves doing things that they are unable to recall afterwards or experiencing dramatic dreams while not actually sleeping. Additional consequences of SWSD are fatigue, decreased ability to concentrate or focus, irritability and feelings of tenseness and depression.
Maintaining a record of your work schedules and rest patterns is normally enough information for your doctor to make a proper diagnosis. Nevertheless, for on-going sleep problems or if an underlying sleep disorder is suspected, you may be required to maintain a sleep diary in which you maintain a record of your sleeping habits. You should additionally try to keep a regular sleep schedule, even on your days off or at weekends. If you consider they may be helpful, ask your physician about medications like Ritalin or Melotonin. It is important that you do not try and self diagnose your problem as it may be something more than a shift work sleep disorder.