When you don't get enough rest, you are more likely to get injured at work and to have health problems.

Workers have fatigue for many reasons:
• Shift work makes them sleep at odd hours
• Low pay makes them work too many hours
• Bosses make them work too much overtime
• There's not enough time between leaving work and when they have to go back (turn-around time).

There should be protections for workers from working too much overtime, guaranteed days off, and limits on turn-around time, but for most workers there aren't.

Truck drivers, airline pilots, young workers, and some health care workers (by state) have overtime and turn-around time protections. A few states make sure workers get a day off. Shift work is hard on your personal life and hard on your body. Shift work is even worse for you when schedules are rotated a lot and workers aren't told their schedule well in advance. Shift changes where you have only a shift (8-12 hours) between your old and new shift are especially bad.

Working longer shifts is also hard on your body. Many people want to work longer shifts so they can have more days off, but they find that they don't really get several days off, because they spend the first day recuperating from working so many hours at a time.

15 million shift workers are awake when most people sleep. Many people have trouble sleeping during the day. Problems with not getting enough sleep include:
  • insomnia
  • falling asleep when driving or working
  • accidents or mistakes at work
  • trouble thinking, focusing, and with memory
  • irritability and moodiness
  • stomach problems, including ulcers
  • heart disease
  • drug addiction is common when using sleeping pills or uppers to adjust to shifts
  • scientists think it may even cause cancer
Shift workers need to make sure they get enough sleep and trick their bodies into thinking it's time for bed. Tips include:
  • take care of anything which might wake you up -- turn off the ringer on the phone, put a sign on your front door, get your family to protect your sleep time.
  • don't eat a big meal or drink a lot of alcohol before you sleep
  • try to keep to your sleep schedule, even when you have the shift off (this is hard, but important)
  • darken the windows where you sleep and avoid bright light before you sleep
  • try different sleep times to find what is best for you - some workers prefer 2 sleep periods. If you nap, make sure it's long enough (short naps can make you more tired)
  • exercise (but not right before sleeping)
  • have a regular night-time ritual before going to sleep
What can employers do (and workers should demand):
  • Shorter night shifts
  • Weekends off - shift workers say the biggest problem is not having time with family and friends.
  • Flexible start and stop times, with core work hours, can make shifts much more manageable since workers can accommodate commute times, day care or school schedules, etc.
  • Longer or more frequent rest breaks for shift workers.
  • Have heavy or dangerous work done during the day whenever possible