Akerstedt addresses these concerns and more in a concise and readable narrative that the general reader can negotiate with little difficulty. Numerous graphs and charts further illuminate concepts. One need not be a shift worker or manager to find Wide Awake at Odd Hours of interest. Åkerstedt 's intended audience includes people who change their hours of sleep for personal reasons--to begin holidays with a long car drive at night, for example, or to stay up late to study or care for a relative.

Students will find this monograph, produced with funding from the Swedish Council for Work Life Research, an excellent introduction to sleep and biological rhythms. Sleep professionals will find it a fine review and future resource, as it is amply footnoted.

In our increasingly 24-hour world, the percentage of people awake at night continues to expand. But humans are not designed for day sleep. Shift work's most significant health effect, Åkerstedt notes, is sleep disturbance. For 3 out of 4 night workers, this disturbance meets medical criteria for insomnia.

Shift workers tend to underestimate their sleep problems, he says, and to resist changing their schedule: "You know what you've got, but don't know what you'll get." Studies by Åkerstedt and his colleagues show that people who work at night often fall asleep on the job. These include persons responsible for costly equipment and the safety of others, such as train engineers and nuclear power plant operators. Moreover, they often are unaware of dozing off.

Åkerstedt describes schedules most likely to cause such problems and suggests how employers might change them. He also provides strategies individuals can use to improve sleep. These include specific tips for day workers, night or rotating shift workers, and travelers.