Your doctor will use a sleep journal and possibly sleep studies to see if you have sleep problems from shift work. He or she will ask questions about your work hours, when you sleep, how much you sleep, and how you feel when you wake up. Your doctor also will ask if you feel very tired or fall asleep while you’re at work. How is shift work sleep disorder diagnosed? continued…
With a sleep journal, you keep track of when you sleep, how much you sleep, and how you feel when you wake up. You write down this information for a week or two. Your doctor will look at it when you’re done.
There are several sleep studies you might have so your doctor can find out why you’re not sleeping well. These usually are done in a sleep lab.
If your doctor thinks that you have a shift work sleep disorder, you might have a test called actigraphy. For this test, you wear a device on your wrist that looks like a watch. The device measures your movement during the day and at night. It helps your doctor learn when you are awake and when you are asleep.