Individuals reporting abnormal sleep patterns frequently are found to be suffering from a primary psychiatric disorder. While sleep researchers have identified nearly 70 different sleep disorders, statistics show that the most common by far is insomnia. A familiar group of sleep disturbances that underlie insomnia involves disorders of circadian rhythm. However, it is endemic in many job fields where employees must work on rotating shifts. One week they start their day early in the morning, and the next week they get up just as everyone else is going to bed.
Insomnia is prevalent among shift workers.
It has been re ported that the average shift worker gets two to four hours less sleep than a non-shift worker of the same age. While sleeping, the patient simply stops breathing for 10 to 30 seconds. The loss of oxygen is enough to interrupt deep sleep, and either wake the patient or bring him to a near-wakeful state. Unfortunately, apnea can lead to more than drowsiness. It requires the heart to work harder, leads to thickening of the blood vessel walls, and can become a cause of pulmonary and cardiac problems.