Managing Insomnia and Shift Work Sleep Disorder
Shift work can disrupt your body clock and lead to insomnia. Learn why sleep problems happen and practical strategies to improve your rest.
Managing insomnia and shift work sleep disorder
Whether you are working overnight, responding to incidents, supporting an emergency operation or rotating through changing rosters, shift work can take a toll on your sleep. When your body’s natural rhythm clashes with your work schedule, falling asleep and staying asleep can become a struggle. Shift work alters your internal clock, which can lead to ‘shift work disorder’, also known as ‘shift work sleep disorder’.
Shift work disorder is marked by persistent difficulties sleeping when you want to rest and excessive sleepiness when you need to be awake. When this happens, insomnia can creep in, which makes nights rough, days groggy and life feel unnaturally hard.
Why shift work makes sleep difficult
Your body is wired to follow a 24-hour cycle. Light and dark drive your hormones, energy levels and alertness.
For shift workers, that cycle gets disrupted. Early starts, late finishes or overnight shifts mean you’re often awake when your body expects sleep and trying to rest when it's primed for wakefulness.
Research shows shift work is linked to insomnia, fatigue, mood disturbances, reduced alertness and even impaired cognition. Over time, this not only affects your job performance but can also affect your health, mood and quality of life.
For emergency service personnel, sleep disruption can also be influenced by operational demands, exposure to critical incidents, and the need to remain alert during periods when the body naturally expects sleep. Over time, these factors can make quality rest more difficult to achieve.
How to recognise insomnia or shift work disorder
Some key symptoms of shift work disorder include:
· Difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep when you want or need to
· Excessive sleepiness during work hours
· Noticing an impact on your work, personal or family life
· Not feeling refreshed even after sleep
Studies suggest insomnia is much more common in shift workers, with rates ranging from about 13% to more than 70%. But even though it’s so common, lots of shift workers don’t get support for it.
If you’re experiencing sleep disturbances week after week, it could be more than just a rough patch, and it could be time to get some help.
Practical strategies for managing insomnia
1. Learn more about sleep hygiene
Our article 13 sleep hygiene tips for shift workers, includes managing caffeine, improving your sleep environment and reducing substances.
By learning more about how sleep works, you can improve the chances of getting a good night’s rest.
2. Write a sleep log
Each day, record how much sleep you’re getting and how many times you wake up. You could use a sleep app or wearable to help track patterns.
It’s important to remember that most sleep is relatively light (only 20% of sleep is spent in deep sleep and 25% spent in dream sleep). Waking every so often throughout the night is also normal.
3. Work with what you can control
While roster arrangements are often determined by operational requirements, understanding how your roster affects your sleep can help you plan recovery more effectively. Where possible, prioritise rest between shifts and avoid scheduling demanding commitments during recovery periods.
This is one of the most common interventions that you could make to improve your sleep.
Compared to backwards rotation, forward rotation (morning shift to evening shift to night shift) has been shown to benefit sleep and alertness.
Having a faster rotation can also help improve your sleep as it limits the change of circadian timing and helps you resynchronise to your normal body clock.
4. Consider stress reduction techniques
Some people find relaxation techniques and/or exercise can help reduce stress and increase sleep quantity. Exercise has plenty of other benefits, including helping us stay in that ‘green zone’.
Consider joining a yoga class or going for a daily walk and see if it makes a difference.
5. Get some help
If sleep problems persist despite good habits, it may be time to see a health professional. Persistent insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, mood changes or safety concerns could signal Shift Work Sleep Disorder.
Your doctor could recommend a therapy like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia which is a proven and recommended treatment for insomnia. They may recommend you speak to a psychologist who specialises in sleep disorders.
Shift work doesn’t have to mean sleepless nights forever. Insomnia and sleep disruption are common among those working non-traditional hours, but they aren’t inevitable and they can be manageable.
Trouble sleeping?
If you notice that you have trouble sleeping and it is impacting your daily routine, you’re not alone.
The MyWellbeing portal offers practical resources to help you improve your sleep habits, manage stress, understand fatigue and support your overall wellbeing.
You can also complete a physical or a mental health screen and access confidential coaching services to help identify areas where additional support may be beneficial.
Visit the MyWellbeing Portal to explore available support and take the next step towards better sleep.
References:
https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2024/june/assessment-and-management-of-sleep-disorders-in-sh
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sleep/articles/10.3389/frsle.2024.1343393/full
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/shift-work-disorder
https://www.rthealth.com.au/health-and-wellbeing/shiftwork-sleep
