Shift-work sleep disorder is a real medical condition. Let?s focus on the top methods of treatment. These include light therapy, and use of prescription medications. There may be others that work better for some people, but let?s concentrate on these. The first is light therapy. This treatment exposes the shift worker to bright lights for a certain amount of time just before work, or on the job. The second part of this treatment involves creating complete darkness when it?s time to sleep. This therapy can help ?reset? the circadian clock and help the shift worker feel more alert during the night shift. The second therapy uses prescription medications that can help both during the work shift, and when it?s time to sleep. To increase alertness on the job, your doctor may prescribe a wakefulness promoting drug. These work in the circadian clock area of the brain by shutting down the sleep-promoting area while activating the area responsible for wakefulness. These are usually taken before you leave for the job. Shift workers may also be prescribed sleeping medications to help them sleep during the day. Non-benzodiazepine medicines are the most common drugs prescribed for helping shift workers sleep. They are taken a short time before a shift worker goes to sleep. These prescription medications can each cause side effects. With the wakefulness drugs, you may experience insomnia. And, the sleep medications can cause dependency. Shift work sleep disorder can be serious if it?s left untreated. If you experience any symptoms, or are worried about the effects of shift work on your body, talk to your doctor about diagnosing and treating this very real medical condition.