How ‘Shift Work Sleep Disorder’ Is Hurting Workers—and Costing Employers

Before most of America pours its first cup of coffee, millions of workers are already hours into their shifts and they're tired. Overnight warehouse workers are packing orders. Early-morning bus drivers are taking kids to school. ER nurses are handing off to the day team at 7 a.m. These workers aren't just fatigued from long hours. Many are living with a real, diagnosable medical condition that goes unrecognized and untreated, sometimes, for years. And the cost of that gap doesn't stay invisible forever.

Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD) affects up to 40 percent of U.S. shift workers. It can cause persistent insomnia, chronic fatigue and impaired concentration. If left untreated, the effects compound, including increased risk of depression, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Workplace consequences track a similar arc. Fatigued workers have higher rates of absenteeism, increased on-the-job errors and greater injury risk. For industries like logistics, healthcare and transportation where precision and reliability are non-negotiable, this is a meaningful operational problem with a real dollar figure attached.

Luckily SWSD, along with other sleep disorders, is treatable. The access gap is the problem.

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