Shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder affecting people with irregular sleep patterns. As shift schedules can differ wildly from one job to the next, the symptoms of SWSD, and their severity, can vary quite a bit.
The symptoms of SWSD include:
- Excessive sleepiness when you need to be awake, alert, and productive.
- Insomnia, or the inability to sleep when you need to. This can mean trouble falling asleep, or waking up before you’ve slept sufficiently.
- Sleep that feels non-restorative or insufficient
- Difficulty concentrating
- Lack of energy
- Irritability and mood problems
- Difficulty with personal relationships / impaired social functioning
Causes
SWSD is caused by disruption of the body’s circadian rhythm through unnatural sleep-wake cycles. This typically means sleeping during the day and being awake at night. Symptoms can be worsened by the constant changes in sleep patterns associated with a rotating shift schedule, in which workers have to switch from day shift to night shift (and vice versa), often in short periods of time. There is also a practically inevitable amount of sleep deprivation that accompanies these short turnarounds.
Diagnosis
In addition to your description of any symptoms, all a doctor typically needs for diagnosis is your work schedule and a record of your sleeping patterns. Keep a sleep diary (or, if you have one, use a sleep tracker) to document your sleep patterns over a period of at least two weeks before seeing your doctor.
The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a questionnaire that has also been shown to be reliable in diagnosing SWSD. In some situations, a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) or in-lab sleep study may be requested.
Treatment
Current treatment guidelines recommend non pharmacological interventions, such as light exposure and exercise. The strategic use of supplemental melatonin and caffeine can also help.
More information on treatment and prevention
Since the primary aim of this website is to provide the best and most up to date methods of coping with shift work, some time spent browsing the site should prove worthwhile.
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