More than 22 million Americans work evenings, rotating shifts or on call and face sleep-related problems like trouble sleeping during the day and staying alert on the job.  Shift work may cause social and family problems or even physical illness.  Working a schedule that is different from most people's can be challenging, but following a few guidelines may make it easer to live with - and safer too.

1. If you are a permanent night shift worker, you should keep a regular (day) sleep schedule seven days a week, even on your days off.  Going back to a typical day schedule during time off will only make it harder for you to sleep during the day when you return to your night shift work.  Avoid bright light going home in the AM by wearing dark sunglasses and get light exposure in the evening prior to work.
2. If you work rotating shifts, try to adjust your sleep schedule so that you will be able to adjust more easily to a new shift time when it happens.  On the last few days of the evening shift, for example, bedtimes and arise times should be delayed by one to two hours.  Then you can begin your night shift work already well on the way to being adjusted to the new schedule.  Family and social responsibilities may, of course, make this difficult or impossible to do.  Still following this treatment approach may really help improve your life and indirectly help your family and social relationships.  If you are going to work rotating shifts, it is better to rotate from days, to evenings and then to nights rather than the reverse
3. For those of you who work on-call shifts, unlike night and rotating shift workers, your sleep schedule is difficult to plan in advance.  To try to be well rested at all times, napping may be worth trying.  Those of you who can't get all your sleep in one stretch may increase your total number of sleep hours by napping.