More and more people are doing shift work. With the economy running around the clock, more people are working non-traditional hours. Unfortunately, as more people work overnight shifts at their job, more of them are experiencing shift work sleep disorder or SWSD. SWSD is a common sleep disorder that affects people who work overnight shifts or frequently rotate their shifts between day hours and overnight hours.

The sleep disorder stems from you going against your body’s internal clock, which regulates our body, allowing us to stay awake during daylight hours and sleep after sunset. When you work and stay awake at night, you go against the internal clock and force yourself to stay awake. Some people that work permanent night shifts are able to adapt to the hours by adjusting their lifestyle and training their body cope with the schedule.

Unfortunately, most shift workers try to live a regular live and never fully let their body adapt to the night schedule, resulting in shift work sleep disorders. The most common symptoms of SWSD are insomnia and excessive sleepiness. Other symptoms include difficulty concentrating, frequent headaches and lack of energy.

Here are some general guidelines to follow that may alleviate some of the symptoms of SWSD:

Set up your sleep area for sleep. Make sure your bedroom invites sleep. Make it dark and quiet to promote uninterrupted sleep. Keep out everything that will distract you from sleep, such as a TV, computer, radio, or pet.

Develop a bedtime routine. Train you body and mind for sleep and keep a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day even on your days off. Limit your exposure to sun light on your way home from work. Go to sleep as soon as you come home from work.

Use sleeping aids to help you sleep. If you find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep, see your doctor about giving you a prescription for sleeping pills as a short-term solution to help you sleep. But don’t come to depend on the sleeping pills. Your body clock needs to adjust the irregular hours

Eat healthy. As you would if you wee working normal hours, eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. Move away from three big meals but instead eat more snacks and smaller portions of with regular meals. Avoid caffeine and other stimulants.

Begin an exercise regimen. Regular exercise will strengthen your immune system, decrease stress, boost your energy level, and maintain you weight, improve your mood, improve your sleep, and maintain your over-all health.

Most shift workers recover from shift work sleep disorder and sleep normally once their get off overnight hours. But if you can’t change your shift, then conscientiously follow these tips and see if there is any relieve fro the symptoms. If you don’t notice improvement and still can’t seem to adapt to the irregular hours of shift work, see your doctor to rule out any underlying medical problems or other sleep disorders as the cause of your SWSD.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sleep-articles/what-you-can-do-about-shift-work-sleep-disorder-1826629.html

95% of adults reported having trouble sleeping at one time or another in their life. 64 million Americans regularly suffer from insomnia each year, and 41% more common in women than men. As we increasingly become more frequent drinkers of caffeine, other factors such as anxiety, excessive use of alcohol or sedatives (sleeping pills for example) changes in sleep pattern because of shift work or travel also leads to insomnia.

All of us needs to sleep. The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses. It is important that we get get adequate daily sleep as sleeping:

• repairs your body tissues
• helps you recover from your illness
• refreshes your mind
• clears emotional conflicts
• help you perform better at work and at play

Myths and Facts About Sleep:

You must sleep 8 hours a night to stay healthy and feel energetic.

FALSE

The amount of sleep needed varies from one person to another and from one day to the next. As you grow older, you tend to sleep less. That is why our seniors tend to be the earliest to wake up every morning. When you are sick, you need more sick. Some women sleep longer during their pre-menstrual periods.

You must make up for lost sleep.

FALSE

You don’t have to repay your sleep debt hour for hour. You can make up for lost sleep because recovery sleep following sleep deprivation is deeper and of higher quality.

Take sleeping pills to help you sleep.

FALSE

Taking sleeping pills produces poorer quality sleep. Also when you take them regularly, you become addicted to it.

In our modern culture, everyday seems to be twice as much work and half as much time to complete it in. Getting a good night’s sleep enables us to act and think at our best. Getting a good night’s sleep means:

• exercising regularly
• stop smoking
• avoiding caffeine, alcohol and other stimulants
• avoid taking naps in the afternoon
• going to bed only when you are drowsy
• eating a healthy, balanced diet
• following a bedtime routine (reading, taking a warm bath, drinking a glass of warm milk, giving yourself a warm and soothing massage)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sleep-articles/myths-and-facts-about-sleeping-uncovered-3222654.html

If you can’t sleep at night, do not worry. I can give you cures for insomnia. Natural remedy solutions are what you should be looking for, and not sleep medications.

Why do I say you should avoid sleeping pills? There are a number of reasons. First of all, sleeping pills can carry a lot of side effects. Some people who have used certain types of sleep medications have suffered vomiting, dizziness, loss of libido, even penile erections that lasted for hours. Also, users of sleep medications have been known to do very strange things, such as extreme sleepwalking. By extreme, I am referring to people driving while sleeping!

There are other drawbacks as well. Sleeping pills can become addictive, and they do nothing to actually cure insomnia. Once you cease taking sleep medications, your insomnia will probably return.

As you search for cures for insomnia, natural remedy solutions are definitely your best option. Some of these natural remedy solutions include making lifestyle changes. Do you stay out late on weekends, and go to bed much later than you do during the week? Try a consistent sleep schedule instead. And when do you stay out late at night, do you have a few drinks? This can carry a number of sleep problems, but it also disrupts your sleep schedule.

OK, so you are not a party animal, but you still are looking for cures for insomnia. Natural remedy solutions for you could consist of taking a warm bath before sleep with Epsom salt. And try to shut your mind off as much as possible before bed. Stress is a major cause of insomnia.