Delayed sleep phase syndrome

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FoRmFacTor

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Does anyone on this forum suffer from or know anyone who suffers from delayed sleep phase syndrome?

It is basically a sleep disorder when a person can only fall asleep at delayed hours, usually between 3 and 6 in the mourning. The persons sleeping habits are otherwise normal and they end up rising at around the middle of the afternoon.

Almost like a permanent jet lag.

It is most impossible to reset your internal clock to allow you to sleep earlier, no matter how hard you try.

It obviously becomes a problem with work and school as you are constantly waking up in the middle of your sleep cycle to hold schedules with the rest of the world.

You thus always feel tired.

Usually, on weekends, this person is able to regain their sleeping habits undisturbed and sleeps from the early morning to the middle if the afternoon.

Has anyone here been affected by this?
 
FoRmFacTor said:
Does anyone on this forum suffer from or know anyone who suffers from delayed sleep phase syndrome?

It is basically a sleep disorder when a person can only fall asleep at delayed hours, usually between 3 and 6 in the mourning. The persons sleeping habits are otherwise normal and they end up rising at around the middle of the afternoon.

Almost like a permanent jet lag.

It is most impossible to reset your internal clock to allow you to sleep earlier, no matter how hard you try.

It obviously becomes a problem with work and school as you are constantly waking up in the middle of your sleep cycle to hold schedules with the rest of the world.

You thus always feel tired.

Usually, on weekends, this person is able to regain their sleeping habits undisturbed and sleeps from the early morning to the middle if the afternoon.

Has anyone here been affected by this?
Click to expand...

I used to a few years back. Visit your GP and have them prescribe some sleeping meds.

I was put onto Zolpidem for about two weeks, after which I returned to normal.
 
It happens to me during the vac/holiday breaks. since i do so much gaming and lurking at midnight. so my sleep pattern tends to be sleep from 3am-10am

I dont need much sleep so its ok

during varsity its hard to set back but i manage.
 
CrazYmonkeY159 said:
It happens to me during the vac/holiday breaks. since i do so much gaming and lurking at midnight. so my sleep pattern tends to be sleep from 3am-10am

I dont need much sleep so its ok

during varsity its hard to set back but i manage.
Click to expand...

That is basically what I was like the whole of last year during honors, now I gotto wake up early for work :( it's such a mission adjusting my sleep patterns to "normal" again..
 
My natural sleep pattern is usually: 2/3am - 10/11 am

I get so much more work done between 11pm and 3am than I do during the rest of the day :/

If my life works out I'll be able to work from home and return to my natural sleep pattern.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
I used to a few years back. Visit your GP and have them prescribe some sleeping meds.

I was put onto Zolpidem for about two weeks, after which I returned to normal.
Click to expand...

I was prescribed Zolpidem and had some strange hallucinations every time after taking the drugs.

zolly said:
My natural sleep pattern is usually: 2/3am - 10/11 am

I get so much more work done between 11pm and 3am than I do during the rest of the day :/

If my life works out I'll be able to work from home and return to my natural sleep pattern.
Click to expand...

Same here. I can be dead tired during the day, but after 11pm I will be awake and am able to just concentrate easier on studies or work.
 
I am on dormonoct. trying to push back my clock a little.

its heavy stuff but so sick of not sleeping enough and being tied all the time!
 
Meh, I'm the worst morning person I know. I wake up with puffy eyes and a mouth full of swear words :p. I just truly dread those 8am lectures though :(. But yeah, I seem to always stay up till 3am, unless I have to wake up the next morning, then I'll mission off to bed early to wake up early :p. I seem to be able to control my body clock quite well.
 
I haven't been diagnosed but:

I typically go to bed at 1-2am, fortunately I only have to get up at 7am.
When on leave, typically 4am to 11am is my sleep cycle el natural.

I don't have trouble sleeping, I have trouble getting tired, even when I cut down on coffee, and lately have been doing decaf (shh don't tell anyone) after 6pm, same crap, only feel tired in the early morning hours.

Also, my most awake, happy, content time of the day is also from about 5pm ->1-2am or so. That's when I'm creative, want to work on my hobbies and feel inspired.

Most of the time in the morning I don't feel fresh or really woken up because I find it hard to juggle work and my sleep routine, if I force myself to go to bed at 11pm, I often wake up at 3am or so. I don't have trouble sleeping, in fact, I don't even hear my alarm, my wife has to wake me and I've slept through big noise and chaos, I feel well rested when I'm allowed to follow my routine during holidays.

I may go visit the doc about it, wouldn't mind getting it officially diagnosed, if indeed I do have DSPS, wonder if work will accept it as an excuse? :D

Oh for a work at home job that pays well. :\
 
CrazYmonkeY159 said:
It happens to me during the vac/holiday breaks. since i do so much gaming and lurking at midnight. so my sleep pattern tends to be sleep from 3am-10am

I dont need much sleep so its ok

during varsity its hard to set back but i manage.
Click to expand...

Wait until you're older, and it's a long term thing ;)
 
DigitalSoldier said:
Same here. I can be dead tired during the day, but after 11pm I will be awake and am able to just concentrate easier on studies or work.
Click to expand...

Yes!! That's the blessing and curse of it all, I feel crap during the day, think I'm gonna get that early night I need, and at about 10/11pm my brain is like ZOIINNNNG LET'S MOVE FURNITURE, HEY, WHAT RHYMES WITH ORANGE? HEY I KNOW, LET'S WATCH LECTURES ON SPECIAL RELATIVITY, YEAH, OR WORK ON MUSIC.

I don't feel hyper, but my brain wants input, like Johnny 5 :)
 
nihilist said:
Yes!! That's the blessing and curse of it all, I feel crap during the day, think I'm gonna get that early night I need, and at about 10/11pm my brain is like ZOIINNNNG LET'S MOVE FURNITURE, HEY, WHAT RHYMES WITH ORANGE? HEY I KNOW, LET'S WATCH LECTURES ON SPECIAL RELATIVITY, YEAH, OR WORK ON MUSIC.

I don't feel hyper, but my brain wants input, like Johnny 5 :)
Click to expand...

Yep that is exactly how I feel. I have slowly worked my week bedtime down from about 2 am to around midnight. Has taken some time. I wake up at 6 so 6 hours is decent. I can still feel drained sometimes though, so I sometimes practice the powernap when I get home. I am usually home before 4.30 so its just before my brain goes ZOIINNNG. If I manage to keep my mental energy level low from leaving work, to getting home. (Not difficult if you simply autopilot home in the traffic). Then I can get home and pass out for a good hour or so.

That powernap helps to balance my lack of nighttime sleep quite nicely. I only do it when I really need to though.

Although it has its advantages. My wife hits the sack at like 7/8 some nights. So when kids happen we have a good complementary schedule. I look after em in the evenings until about 1am. Then I hit the sack and if they wake in the night its her turn.
Plus I would sleep through the appocolypse so waking me up in the middle of the morning is like reviving the dinosaurs.

On a related note. I happened to have a one of those 24hour blood pressure monitors on me a few years ago. Docs orders and all. When I went to the follow up meeting where they show me the data and give the feedback on how my blood pressure reacts all day long. It seems like my BP stays highish all day, but when I sleep its like I go into a hibernation. My Heart rate goes really low, and my BP dips really really low. Might be related to the heavy sleeper aspect.
 
The crap thing is, I like my midnight sessions and I don't want to sleep more :P Catch 22.
 
4/5am-12/1pm. Been like this as long as I can remember. School was hell for me. Luckily I'm self employed and can keep my own weird hours.
 
Read this article on Lifehacker that was more about fighting jet lag, but may be applicable to some.
Basically, you must stop eating/drinking anything 16 hours before your next breakfast. So if you need to wake up at 6am, your last meal the previous day should be at 2pm.

The idea is that it resets an internal clock designed to wake us up when we should be looking for food back in our hunter/gatherers days. This in turn resets your sleep cycle clock.

I tried it once when my sleep cycle shifted due to 1am lurking on the net, and it did the trick. Still not sure if it was a placebo effect though... :\

Sauce
 
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