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How To Cure Sleep Disturbances Caused By Working In Night Shifts?

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Posted on Wed, 25 Dec 2013
Question: I'm doing night shift but Im not getting sleep in day, usually i will sleep 3 to 4 hours in the day due to that i don't have peace of mind. please advise how to get proper sleep
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Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (6 hours later)
Brief Answer: My reply is below. Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you for posting your query. It is common for people with night shift duties to get sleep disturbance. This is because the natural sleep pattern is to sleep at night due to release of a hormone melatonin from pineal gland, which gets released at night, usually between 9 and 11 pm, which initiates sleep. This sleep disorder is also called as shift work sleep disorder. Some common tips to improve your sleep in the day would be: 1. Keep your bedroom dark during the day, as the sleep hormone is released in dark, and not in presence of light. 2. Avoid tea or coffee within 2-3 hours prior to your sleep time. 3. Maintain the same sleep schedule even on your off duty days (which means you should sleep during day on your leave days also, as much as possible). Medications that can help improve your sleep are zolpidem and melatonin combination, which can be taken about one hour prior to your sleep time. I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you require any additional information. Wishing you good health, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Dr. Sudhir Kumar

Neurologist

Practicing since :1994

Answered : 6231 Questions

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How To Cure Sleep Disturbances Caused By Working In Night Shifts?

Brief Answer: My reply is below. Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you for posting your query. It is common for people with night shift duties to get sleep disturbance. This is because the natural sleep pattern is to sleep at night due to release of a hormone melatonin from pineal gland, which gets released at night, usually between 9 and 11 pm, which initiates sleep. This sleep disorder is also called as shift work sleep disorder. Some common tips to improve your sleep in the day would be: 1. Keep your bedroom dark during the day, as the sleep hormone is released in dark, and not in presence of light. 2. Avoid tea or coffee within 2-3 hours prior to your sleep time. 3. Maintain the same sleep schedule even on your off duty days (which means you should sleep during day on your leave days also, as much as possible). Medications that can help improve your sleep are zolpidem and melatonin combination, which can be taken about one hour prior to your sleep time. I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you require any additional information. Wishing you good health, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India