• reduce the number of night shifts if possible,
• minimize  overtimes, long extended shifts as well as rotating shifts
• Reduce the time that you spent on travel, as  it is  taking time from sleeping
• Get a good sleep when you have a day off, and make it your priority
• Avoid alcohol together with nicotine and caffeine.

There is a medicine that can reduce the symptoms of SWSD, called Provigil, make sure you talk to your doctor about its potential benefits and risks.

The reason why these tests were done is the fact that Provigil works very well within two hours after taking it, however excessive sleepiness affects people living with narcolepsy a whole day.

The study has proven, that taking small doses of this medicine can be more efficient that one portion in the morning, because it helps to fight excessive sleepiness in the afternoon and evening as well.

We suggest you to discuss with the doctor, which way suits your needs better

Patients with this disorder experience an uncontrollable need for sleep, which can happen a number of times during the day.

People with that disorder usually fall asleep on a spot, and can remain asleep for an extended period of time. In some cases these sleepiness periods can last more than an hour.

These sleepiness periods can happen any minute,that is why Narcolepsy is potentially dangerous, if this person drives a car or performs any other dangerous activity.

The symptoms, common for narcolepsy are :excessive sleepiness, cataplexy ( loss of muscle tone), hallucinations and paralysis.

Narcolepsy affects about 1 in 200o people, and it can affect anybody, any age, race or social group.

The medication prescribed for this disorder is Provigil, which helps to reduce excessive sleepiness.

Patients treated with that medicine have increased sleep latency when compared to a placebo group. In addition to that there has been a fewer number of accidents reported, while driving from work.

There have been some side effects, the most common are headache and nausea. This treatment did not affect the day time sleep.

“This is the third of five FDA approvals that we will be pursuing over a 15-month time period,” said Dr. Paul Blake, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Clinical Research & Regulatory Affairs at Cephalon. “Cephalon is a pioneer in developing compounds for improving wakefulness, and this on- schedule filing allows us to reinforce our leadership position in the treatment of disorders of sleep and wakefulness,” added Dr. Blake.

Continuous measures of electroencephalogram (EEG) sleep-wakefulness, locomotor activity (LMA) and body temperature (Tb) were obtained from adult male Wistar rats 3 days before and after treatment with Provigil (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg i.p.), 0.25% methylcellulose (vehicle) or METH (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg i.p.). Individually housed rats in a 24-h light-dark cycle (LD 12:12) were treated 5 h after lights-on (CT-5).

LMA and Tb were monitored via intraperitoneal telemetry. Sleep-wake stages and LMA were recorded every 10 s, Tb every minute. During the first 3 h post-treatment, Provigil and METH significantly and dose-dependently increased EEG wake time (P < .01 for 30 mg/kg Provigil, all other P < .0001) and wake episode duration.

Although the cumulative increases in wakefulness were statistically equivalent, METH, but not Provigil, produced subsequent rebound hypersomnolence.

At these equipotent wake-promoting doses, Provigil produced the same total amount of REM sleep inhibition but during a longer time than METH. Provigil also increased LMA amount (counts/h, P < .001) and LMA intensity (counts/min awake, P < .001) less than METH. Both rebound hypersomnolence and increased LMA intensity, which are undesirable features in wake-promoting drugs, were not observed after Provigil treatment, and thus further differentiated Provigil from amphetamine-like stimulants.

Provigil significantly increased MWT mean sleep latency (at 0900-1500) compared with placebo. The mean change from baseline at final visit for Provigil was an increase of 1.3, 2.6, and 1.9 min in the 150-mg, 250-mg, and combined groups, respectively, compared with a decrease of 1.9 min for placebo (p < 0.01 for all three comparisons).

Mean late-day MWT latency (1500-1900) was also significantly improved (difference of Provigil combined group relative to placebo at final visit: 2.8 min, p = 0.0358). The proportions of patients who showed at least minimal improvement in the CGIC rating from baseline to final visit in the Provigil 150-mg, 250-mg, and combined groups were 69%, 73%, and 71%, respectively, compared with 33% for placebo (p < 0.0001). Both doses were associated with statistically significant improvements in memory, attention, and fatigue (p < 0.05). The most common adverse events in patients receiving Provigil were headache, nausea, and dizziness.

Provigil significantly improved ability to sustain wakefulness throughout the day in patients with narcolepsy. Provigil also significantly improved overall clinical condition, memory, attention, and fatigue when compared with placebo.