You don’t have to ‘push through’.

As most Vector readers know, shiftwork is woven through commercial general aviation – from search and rescue crews to agricultural pilots and maintenance engineers.

And anyone who’s worked shifts understands first-hand that our natural sleep rhythms clash with the schedules of rosters and shiftwork.

Sleep psychologist Dan Ford, from The Better Sleep Clinic(external link), says the link between shiftwork and sleep problems is complex. But following some basic sleep principles, and getting help when those aren’t working, can change your life and make your work safer for you and those around you.

Rotating shifts add complexity

Most shiftworkers don’t work permanently on one timing. They may swing between nights, early mornings, afternoons, and a normal daylight schedule.

“For your body, the adjustment is like flying through different time zones, landing, trying to settle, then flying to another one,” Dan says.

Fast-rotating rosters are the most difficult for a shiftworker to manage. “The body clock likes stability and regularity,” he explains.

The most common mistake

On the first day off a shift block, Dan says the most predictable error people make is to think they must sleep as long as possible to catch up on lost shut-eye.

“That’s usually what causes the problem. They’re oversleeping in the belief that they need to compensate. But the body compensates through deeper, more intense sleep, not by extending your total hours of sleep excessively.

“Don’t let your sleep window blow out. Most people don’t need more than eight hours.”

Minimising sleep disruption

While treatment for sleep problems is highly individualised, Dan says shiftworkers without underlying sleep disorders can boost their chances of getting good quality sleep by following a few reliable tips (sometimes called ‘sleep hygiene’). These are generally well known, but always worth repeating.

• Keep your bedroom dark by using blackout curtains or an eye mask.
• Keep the room cool – you’ll sleep better at lower temperatures.
• Reduce noise as much as possible.
• Avoid alcohol and nicotine – they interfere with sleep, making it lighter, fragmented, and less refreshing.
• Taper off caffeine by the end of the first half of your shift.
• Avoid bright morning light on the drive home after a night shift – for example, wear sunglasses. 

“These are the basics for people who are otherwise sleeping okay,” Dan says. “But once someone is experiencing real sleep dysfunction, these steps won’t fix it.”

When sleep hygiene isn’t enough

Sleep hygiene is preventative, Dan says – like brushing your teeth. “Brushing prevents cavities – it doesn’t fix them when they’ve developed. If you’ve done all the sleep hygiene guidance and you still don’t sleep well, you’re in sleep disorder territory. It’s probably not going away by itself.”

He says Shift Work Disorder (SWD) is a recognised sleep condition affecting 10 to 40 percent of shiftworkers. Rates are higher among those on rotating and night shifts.

“An aircraft engineer came to me for help with SWD,” says Dan. “He was confused and frustrated, asking, ‘Why now, after 30 years of working shifts?’ But sleep dysfunction can get worse as you get older.”

Stopping shiftwork doesn’t always fix SWD, Dan adds. Some people develop persistent insomnia or body clock disruption even after moving to day work.

SWD often overlaps with other issues, including preexisting insomnia. Dan says he sees SWD presenting in these three main ways:

• people who can’t sleep after their shift
• people who are extremely sleepy when they need to be awake
• a mix of both situations.

Treatments for SWD draw on insomnia therapy and circadian rhythm therapy.

“We might use melatonin (a synthetic supplement that mimics your natural sleep hormone). We may use bright light therapy to keep people more wakeful when they need to be awake. We may simply recommend sleep schedule changes that get the sleep-wake system back in alignment.”

When and how to get help

A good time to seek support, Dan says, is when the problem isn’t improving despite doing the basics. Clinically, several nights of disrupted sleep a week over three months is often used as the indicator of SWD. But Dan emphasises a simpler rule:

“If it’s affecting your day, that’s the sign.”

Professional assistance is available within the public health system, and privately.

Dan says different professionals treat different disorders. Psychologists like him treat insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders with mainly behavioural sleep treatments. Medical specialists treat issues such as sleep apnoea with medical interventions.

How long does treatment take?

“For insomnia alone, it’s about five sessions over a couple of months,” says Dan. “Shift Work Disorder cases are often similar – about 8 to 12 weeks. It varies, but it’s not years of therapy.”

Fatigue vs sleepiness

One of the biggest misunderstandings in aviation is the difference between fatigue and sleepiness.

Fatigue is a lack of physical and mental energy that builds over time, while sleepiness (nodding off or having ‘microsleeps’) goes away quickly once you get enough sleep. Fatigue takes longer to remedy – often two weeks of consistent, good-quality sleep before energy noticeably improves.

In operational settings, Dan says, fatigue management usually means sleepiness management – preventing people from falling asleep on the job. But the emotional and cognitive exhaustion of fatigue is its own, quieter risk.

Help is available

Shiftwork, sleep loss, and fatigue are interlinked and complex. But Dan’s message is reassuring: these problems are common, understandable, and treatable. No one needs to just ‘push through.’ If loss of sleep is affecting your health or your safety, it’s time to ask for help.

A pilot's experience with shifts and sleep

Clayton Girven is Chief Pilot IFR at HeliOtago. One of the busiest air ambulance operators in the country, it covers the lower half of the South Island to the subantarctic islands. Its crews regularly fly as far as Christchurch with patients needing urgent specialist care, often during the night.

Alongside sleep specialists, Clayton helped develop a new roster when the CAA introduced changes to fatigue management requirements.

How HeliOtago’s split-shift system works

Clayton and his colleagues work a four-days-on, four-days-off roster. It’s built around a split-shift model, with pilots working a six-hour day window and a six-hour night window, rather than the more common two 12-hour days, then two 12-hour night shifts.

The pilots must live close enough to base to go home between these windows. This allows them to sleep at home rather than spending long, draining stretches waiting on base. The shorter duty periods fit better around natural sleep cycles and the timing of night callouts, giving pilots more predictable opportunities to rest.

“The split-shift roster turns long, sometimes inactive 12-hour shifts into shorter, better-timed duty periods that match flights actually happening. Pilots end up flying more missions, remaining more current, and accumulating 340 to 400 flying hours a year,” Clayton says.

He believes those flying hours are essential for maintaining the skills required for night, mountain and night-vision goggle flying – all routine parts of the Otago air ambulance workload.

Clayton says no matter how a roster is built, the body’s circadian rhythm can’t be ignored. “The hardest times to stay alert are around midnight to six in the morning. Any HeliOtago pilot who works through those times is stood down for eight hours, or longer if necessary. They don’t return to duty unless they’re properly rested.”

To prevent extended sleep disruption, HeliOtago allows only two nights that keep a pilot out after midnight. A third night triggers a 24-hour stand-down.

How sleep debt shows up

Sleep can be easily interrupted by ordinary life, Clayton says. With a young family, his sleep after a night shift is sometimes broken as the children get ready for school. He uses blackout curtains and goes back to sleep once the house is quiet. Although HeliOtago has five sleeping rooms at its Dunedin base and three in Queenstown, pilots prefer to sleep at home whenever possible.

After more than two days without proper rest, Clayton says sleep debt sets in. “You feel tired, run down, and you may be more likely to get sick.”

Irritability and short tempers appear too. While HeliOtago’s systems and culture protect sleep as much as possible, Clayton says pilots must still be disciplined in managing their own sleep, rest, and routines.

The most challenging time, he says, is often between three and five in the morning – usually after delivering a patient to hospital and beginning a long return flight.

“On the return legs, especially in the early-morning circadian low, the H145’s autopilot and modern systems mean the workload can drop very low. On a calm, clear night, that quiet, steady flight can make it easy for tiredness to creep in.”

To manage that, the crews rely on human strategies, including:

• using two pilots for demanding missions
• putting a crew member in the front seat to keep the pilot engaged on the return leg
• taking 15 to 20-minute naps while parked at a hospital
• stopping overnight if needed. 

Clayton says they’re fortunate to have enough resources to rotate pilots and aircraft when required.

Discipline and structure are vital

With 1900 hours of night flying behind him, including nearly 1600 hours using night-vision goggles, Clayton says discipline and structure are crucial to managing shifts and sleep.

His fitness routine encourages that, and helps to maintain the mindset he needs to manage himself at work – including getting enough sleep when he’s off duty.

“The company can’t force a pilot to sleep – it’s the pilot’s responsibility.”

The job demands flying through the darkest hours, over long distances, in weather, sometimes using night-vision goggles. One thing that makes that possible is sleep – protected deliberately, recovered when disrupted, and treated with the same seriousness as any other part of the operation.