Shift Work Sleep Disorder
Getting a good night's sleep can be one of the most challenging aspects of shift work, and there are few shift workers who have not struggled with insomnia, severe fatigue, excessive sleepiness and general body clock disruption.
We live increasingly today in a 24 hours society and those traditionally seen as shift workers, including emergency service personnel (police officers, firemen, doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance drivers and others) and factory workers are being joined by airline pilots, convenience store staff, customer service representative and others. Indeed the list of those employed on shift work gets longer every day.
In the United States alone more than 22 million Americans count themselves as shift workers – and this figure is growing at a rate of some 3 percent each year.
If you are a shift worker or a shift work manager, you are probably already familiar with the many risks and sleep problems associated with late or all-night shift work, and recognizing the origin of these problems is an essential step towards remedying them.
In examining the problem of shift work sleep disorder we will split the subject down as follows:
The information contained here should NOT be used as a substitute for the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other health care provider. The information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only and in no way should be considered as an offering of medical advice.
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