Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

"Midnight....if I go to sleep now, I can get at least get six hours of sleep. 1:30....if I go to sleep NOW, I can get at least four and a half hours...."

For thousands of Americans, this is a pattern of thought that repeats its self night after night. Many might think this disorder is insomnia, but staying awake and contemplating when you'll fall asleep and how long you'll have to sleep is actually called Delayed Sleep Phase syndrome.

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, or DSPS, is a fairly common disorder of sleep timing. The exact cause of the syndrome is unknown. Circadian rhythms, the cycles that control when you sleep and wake, are irregular in people who have DSPS. People with DSPS could possibly display or have day time sleepiness, fatigue, altered eating habits, and it has been know to lead to insomnia and depression. Most people with DSPS are described as "night owls" or simply as not being "morning people."

The truth about those with DSPS however, is not that they do not have a problem with sleeping, once they have actually fallen sleep. If allowed to sleep during what could be call their "night" (which could be 4 A.M. to noon depending on the person), they sleep soundly,wake spontaneously, and do not feel sleepy again until their next "night." The syndrome is most common in adolescent boys.

Don't be confused though. DSPS can be an intentionally brought upon one's self by choosing to sleep in late and/or not going to sleep at a decent hour, which creates an abnormal sleep schedule. People who have intentional DSPS are nearly always clinically depressed.

Thankfully, there is treatment to DSPS. Light therapy, or photo-therapy can be used to help the problem. The main idea behind this is that exposure to extremely bright light in the morning advances the sleep cycle, where else light in the evening delays it. There is also a form of treatment called chronotherapy. During chronotherapy, one goes to sleep three hours later every night until the desired sleep time is reached. This means instead of going to sleep at 1 A.M., one would stay up till 4 A.M. The time one sleeps gradually gets later and later until the desired sleep time is reached.

There is no way to be tested for DSPS, but one can pretty much figure out when somethings off.

So night owl or not, there is help.