• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Subscribe to the Journal
  • Contact Us
Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy

Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy

Official Publication of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy

Use of Pharmaceuticals by Shift Workers Needs More Research

August 22, 2014 by admin

 

Shift workers use over-the-counter and prescription drugs to stay awake or fall asleep, but researchers say the evidence behind those practices is weak.

 

Commenting on the study titled “Pharmacological interventions for sleepiness and sleep disturbances caused by shift work“, Dr. David Neubauer, associate director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center in Baltimore, Maryland, revealed that use of these drugs for this purpose “has been studied to a very limited extent and the studies that have been published mostly have not been of sufficient quality to allow firm conclusions. Considering the large number of people who do shift work, it certainly is unfortunate that minimal research has been performed to offer clinical guidance to address the problems of inadequate alertness or sleepiness.”

 

Dr. Juha Liira of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki and colleagues reportedly gathered data from 15 trials involving 718 participants. The trials evaluated the effect of melatonin and hypnotic drugs on sleep after the shift, and the effect of modafinil, armodafinil and caffeine plus naps on sleepiness during the shift.

 

“They found that taking a nap and caffeine before a night shift may improve alertness, and daytime melatonin may add around 24 minutes of extra sleep during daylight hours, but the evidence is weak,”. “For some workers, modafinil improves alertness at work but carries the risk of side effects like headache and nausea, and rarely a serious skin rash syndrome.”

 

In general, the authors cautioned, “The evidence was of low quality and mostly from small trials. Both sleep and alertness promoting agents have potentially serious adverse effects. Therefore, we need more trials to determine the beneficial and harmful effects of these drugs.”

 

Click Here for Abstract

Filed Under: Articles, Blog

Primary Sidebar

More to See

Snoring, American Sleep and Breathing Academy and the NY Times

August 23, 2022 By admin

Jazz Pharma Presents 17 New Posters for SLEEP 2022

June 6, 2022 By admin

Tags

apnea CPAP Health Home Sleep Home Sleep Testing insomnia narcolepsy obstructive sleep apnea Sleep sleep apnea sleep apnea symptoms sleep apnea syndrome sleep apnea treatment sleep appliances sleep buisness Sleep Business sleep center Sleep Centers sleep community sleep diagnosis sleep diagnostic sleep diagnostics sleep disease sleep disorder sleep disorder center sleep disordered breathing sleep disorders sleep heart health sleep industry sleeping Sleep Lab sleep labs sleep management sleep medicine sleep monitor sleep physicians sleep problems sleep studies sleep study sleep technologist sleep test sleep testing Technology therapy Treatment

Footer

About SleepDT

SleepDT Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy is a clinical Journal for allied Sleep Professionals, Neurologists, Psychiatrists, Pulmonologists, Primary Care Physicians, and other medical specialists. We also advocate on behalf of patient care in the field of Sleep Medicine

Recent

  • SUPPORT AND PROMOTE DENTAL SLEEP MEDICINE IN 2023!
  • Snoring, American Sleep and Breathing Academy and the NY Times
  • Jazz Pharma Presents 17 New Posters for SLEEP 2022
  • AJMC Hypes SLEEP 2022
  • Avadel Pharmaceuticals’ Stock Falls

NAVIGATION

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Subscribe to the Journal
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2023 · Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy