What Makes a Night Owl: Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

I've always considered myself a night owl. But how does one become a night owl?

My mother used to get so frustrated with my reversed sleep pattern when I was in high school, she would try her damnedest to make me sleep like a normal person. But no matter how hard she or I tried to change my pattern of amazing alertness after 10p.m. and grogginess until noon we just couldn't seem to manage it. I tried everything from skipping my after school naps to going more than 24 hours without sleep all in hopes that when 10p.m. rolled around I would be so exhausted that I would have no choice by to fall asleep. After nothing worked I explained to my mom that abnormal sleeping patterns are normal in adolescence and that must be why I am very alert while others sleep and half awake throughout the day. But now that I am older I still find that I suffer from the same affliction. And I do mean suffer. It's lonely at night when you are the only one awake, and it's painful going through your day yearning for nothing but your bed. It's hard to stay awake through lectures, stay on task at work, and many times I can sit through a whole class without remembering more than one or two points that were made.

I figured that some people were just naturally wired to be more alert at night. I've never been able to maintain a normal sleep schedule for more than a week at a time. I usually find myself going through the day on 4-5 hours of sleep and then napping whenever I can. I often miss classes, am late for work, and I hardly ever look put-together because I am usually just rolling out of bed when it is time to leave. But am I really going to be like this for the rest of my life? How will I hold a regular 9-5 job if I can't get up before noon? And what about when I have children, how will I get them ready for school?

After watching a documentary on HBO, Wide Awake, I found what I consider to be an answer to my questions. The documentary chronicled Alan Berliner's 40 year struggle with sleep. Throughout the documentary he discusses the efforts he has made to sleep like a normal person, his family sleeping history, and what it's like to live a life at night with three different doctors. Then, when one doctor told him that it sounded like he had Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, what most people refer to as a night owl, a lightbulb went off in my head. Could this be my problem as well?

Since my sleep problem is currently life-threatening I figured that I would do a little research on the internet and skip the trip to the doctor's, I don't want sleeping pills anyway, I would rather find a natural cure.

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS) is when a person's Circadian Rhythms don't follow the typical schedule. Circadian Rhythms are supposed to regulate when a person rests and wakes, they are a sort of biological clock. Persons suffering for DSPS have Circadian Rhythms that trigger delayed sleep phases. While the causes of DSPS are unknown, those who have suffered head trauma, gone through a major illness, or who have lifestyles that allow alternative sleep patterns appear to be most likely to suffer from the disorder.

A person who is suffering from DSPS can be identified by the inability to fall asleep before midnight to 3a.m. followed by difficulty getting out of bed in the morning. Unlike those suffering from insomnia, DSPS sufferers are able to fall asleep, they aren't able to do so before the early morning hours. Because of their inability to sleep at a normal time, and because our society is one that often requires an individual to rise early in the morning, some DSPS sufferers may come to rely on sleeping aids or alcohol to help them go to sleep earlier than their body wants to.

So far this sounds like me. Nothing too serious. But if it keeps up there could be huge consequences from my lack of sleep, since sleep helps to regulate the immune system, body temperature, and heart rate. So what can I and others suffering from our night owl ways do about or sleep?

There are a few different kinds of treatments used for DSPS patients. Bright Light Therapy is a method in which the patient is exposed to bright light (e.g. sunlight or artificial white light) for a designated amount of time in the morning. Since light is part of what helps to regulate Circadian Rhythms, exposure to bright light in the morning can help one's body to learn to require sleep earlier.

Chronotherapy, another method for treating DSPS involves gradually moving one's sleep time around the clock until it finally arrives at the normal hours. The sleep schedule for this type of therapy may look something like this, as show on sleepchannel.com:

1st night: sleep at 4 a.m., wake at 12 p.m.
2nd night: sleep at 7 a.m., wake at 3 p.m.
3rd night: sleep at 10 a.m., wake at 6 p.m.
4th night: sleep at 1 p.m., wake at 9 p.m.
5th night: sleep at 4 p.m., wake at 12 p.m.
6th night: sleep at 7 p.m., wake at 3 a.m.
7th night: sleep at 10 p.m., wake at 6 a.m.

By going through this week-long gradual change in sleep schedule a patient gradually moves their sleep schedule around to the normal time by going to bed three hours later day by day, and eventually, in this example, moving their sleep schedule from 4a.m. to 10p.m. The reason for having the patient go to bed later rather than earlier as a means of repairing their sleep phase is that it is usually easier to stay awake later than it is to go to bed earlier. When trying any kind of therapy to repair a sleeping disorder it is important to keep on schedule in order to ensure lasting results.

Finally, whenever there is a sleep problem that is being treated it is important to practice good sleep hygiene. This means not using stimulants such as caffeine before bed, doing any exercise in the early morning, only making slight variations in sleep and wake times, and reducing stress to allow for easier sleep.

As far as my own sleeping problem, I would really like to sleep like the rest of the world. Since I have a job with odd work hours I would probably have the most success with early light exposure. And I think it might help if I exercise while I get my sunlight. I'm hoping that eventually I can go to sleep with the rest of the world and finally experience what it feels like to be fully rested. I won't be in my twenties forever, and I don't think my thirties are going to put up with my night owl ways.

Sources:
http://www.sleepdisorderchannel.com/dsps/index.shtml
http://www.cinematical.com/2006/01/22/sundance-review-wide-awake/
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/sleep_understanding_the_basics/page2_em.htm