Many people start work very early, even though they don’t think of themselves as shift workers. This early schedule can cause strong tiredness called shift‑work disorder. The tiredness hurts focus, safety, and how well people do their jobs.
Why Early Hours Mess Up Sleep
About one in four workers do not follow the usual 9‑to‑5 routine. When work begins before sunrise, the body’s internal clock gets confused. Even if the person feels they are just getting up early, their sleep pattern can still be broken, leading to constant daytime sleepiness.
Risks of Feeling Sleepy at Work
Being constantly sleepy can lower mental sharpness, reduce how much work gets done, raise the chance of car crashes, and cause more injuries on the job. Some doctors use medicines like modafinil to help, but those drugs have mostly been tested on overnight workers and can make it harder to fall asleep later.
Solriamfetol (brand name Sunosi) is already approved for people with sleep apnea or narcolepsy who feel overly sleepy. Researchers thought it might also help early‑morning workers stay alert without ruining their nighttime sleep.
Study Shows More Wakefulness and Better Work
In a four‑week trial, 78 early‑morning employees with shift‑work disorder were given either solriamfetol or a harmless pill (placebo). They took the medicine on workdays only. Scientists measured how long participants could stay awake during a low‑stimulus test that matched their real work hours. The workers also reported how they felt each day and met regularly with doctors.
After the month, the group that took solriamfetol stayed awake longer and felt less sleepy during the test. Both the workers and their doctors noticed clearer thinking, better job performance, and easier handling of daily chores.
"The change we saw matters in real life. These people could stay alert for a full eight‑hour shift, which helps safety, performance, and quality of life," said lead researcher Czeisler.
What Comes Next?
The researchers note that the study only included healthy adults and lasted four weeks. More work is needed to see how the drug works over longer periods and with overnight shift workers. A new trial is now recruiting participants to explore those questions.
Funding for the study came from Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Axsome Therapeutics, and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Clinical Investigation (clinical trial ID NCT04788953).