Shift work is most commonly associated with those who work hours outside of the normal 9:00am to 5:00pm work shift. Some industries that require people to go on shift work include healthcare (especially hospitals), security, hospitality, and retail. Without these individuals taking on the taxing duty of adjusting their body clocks to work in the late (or early) hours of the night, a lot of industries would fail.
Because of these hours, it’s no wonder that these workers often suffer from a condition called shift work sleep disorder whereby it becomes difficult either to go to sleep or to stay awake. Luckily, it’s been discovered that the best nootropics for work are quite helpful in sleep regulation and offer a good solution for shift work sleep disorders.
Read below to learn all about shift work sleep disorder and what nootropics to take to better your sleep patterns and for improved sleep quality.
What is shift work sleep disorder?
To better understand shift work sleep disorder, you must first be familiar with the circadian rhythm. This is a combination of physical and mental behaviour within the 24-hour cycle that corresponds to the light and darkness of the environment. Through the circadian rhythm, your body responds to the daylight by keeping you awake, and to the darkness by encouraging you to sleep.
For shift workers, however, their schedule is the opposite of this. They’re awake during the night and asleep during the day. Those with the condition suffer either from insomnia (difficulty in sleeping) or hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness). Both these are detrimental to your body, with insomnia causing you to not get enough rest, and hypersomnia impairing you during your most crucial tasks. Aside from that, other symptoms of this disorder include headaches, lethargy, poor focus, and a negative mood and disposition.
How can you use nootropics for better sleep patterns and sleep quality?
There are many solutions to help those with shift work sleep disorder to improve their symptoms. These can range from schedule adjustments, manipulation of the circadian rhythm through artificial light or darkness, increase and decrease of caffeine during key moments of the day, and more.
One other way is the use of nootropics during different parts of the day. There are certain nootropics that are best to take for work and others that are good sleep aids for shift workers.
For starters, our FOCUS daily nootropic contains the best nootropic ingredients for keeping your concentration and motivation intact during work. Natural ingredients such as Panax ginseng, ginkgo biloba, and Rhodiola rosea are stacked together in our formulation for better memory, adaptation to stress, and cognitive performance and endurance.
On the other hand, our CALM daily nootropic is stacked with different ingredients with calming and sleep-inducing properties. Ashwagandha root, magnesium amino acids, and Passiflora incarnata are all known to improve sleep quality, making CALM an ideal sleep aid for shift workers.
For more information about the ingredients we use for our nootropic stacks, read all about the science behind each product here!
Dealing with shift work sleep disorder is not a walk in the park. Managing this condition on top of fulfilling your tasks as a shift worker may be a hassle and cause you even more stress. But by following treatments including taking both the best nootropics for work and for sleep quality, you can overcome this hurdle and get ideal rest in between your gruelling shifts.
Love your brain,
The Yootropics Team