Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

[kAzZaM]

Hello

I am a 25 year old graduate student in London, England, and I have been suffering from DSPS from 9 years now. It all started when I was 16, the summer I did my O levels. For all these years I have thought I was indisciplined...my parents have been irritated to death, my friends have viewed me as an idiot, my girlfriends have seen me as hopeless, and colleagues have mocked me. The things is, I have never really had a proper job...because I have been studying all these years.

I graduated from university at 24, and have gone straight into my masters. I have always thought my sleep disorder was a result of the ill-disciplined, nocturnal lifestyle that usually creeps in as an undergraduate. But now I am learning that my condition might be permanent. AND INCURABLE?!?!?!?!?!????

Please guys, can SOMEONE out there tell me I can cure this? There must be SOME success stories out there!! I have already overcome depression anxiety, and drug use in my life. Do I REALLY have to fight ANOTHER BATTLE??? I thought rough times were behind me...

[sandyboo]

Hi,

My son, now 15 has had this too since I can remember. I thought oh my this sucks as a parent. I have finally found that dsps is real. The thing we have used is Melatonex it is sold over the counter and works for him to get to sleep on 1/2 tablet. The mornings are tough but workable. This is something that you may or maynot ever grow out of. You must educate yourself and who ever else needs to understand your position. Its no different then being deaf or blind. It is what it is and you need to work with it. Your a night person and thats that. Find a night job or 2nd 3rd shift. Basically your sleep time is opposite most of society thats all. No biggy so work at night. Maybe another part of the world?
You'll get a hold dont give up, but educate for understanding.

good luck

[dezeus]

It's now about 5:30 am, and I doubt that I'll be able to make it to the 11 am meeting with a client. I'm a self-employed 35 year-old woman who just read about this condition. And it all makes sense now. I've been struggling with sleep for as long as I can remember. Since I was 11 years-old. I function the best at night do my best thinking then. However, business doesn't run on great ideas alone. So sleeping regularly has been illusive for most if not all of my life.

Here is the positive message, at one point, I was sleeping and functioning regularly. So doing cardio was key for me. I was addicted to running when I was 28 years-old. I was running virtually everyday. Like clockwork I was awake at 6:30 - 7 am and ready to sleep at 11 pm. I couldn't keep my eyes open past 11 pm. I have a floating knee cap problem now, so I can't run anymore. Now I started using the ellyptical machine, I had a 20 min. routine everyother day. And it worked. I tried to amend my relationship with my bed. And think of it as a wonderful experience. My midnight I'm ready to fall asleep. And wake up by 10 am. There is obviously an adjustment period so give yourself at least 3 days when you don't have any commitments during the day.

Work out and get some cardio done and try to stick to a schedule. Good luck.

[Non24SlpSyn]

This is my first post on here, I can't believe I'm finding people with the same type of stories, interactions with people, and problems I have. I have full Non 24 Sleep syndrome, I would suggest the poster above check into that because it is like DSPS but a lot worse. I say you should che it out because of the time you listed.

This non 24 hour thing keeps making you fall asleep later and later until you don't fall asleep until daylight every single day and it still may keep going later and later. I haven t been able to fall asleep until 12 or 1pm sometimes (having been up the whole night and day before). Right now I can't sleep until (8AM-11AM). But again the thing with this is your sleep clock will continue to go on later and later until you sleep during regular hours again but only for a limited time do you get to do that, usually a week or too if your lucky and even then you slowly are sleeping later and later. It likes to stay in the wrong hours as much as possible though and it is just horrible. So I'm a part time DSPS person but then I go on far beyond into a more rare land (1 out of every 2,000 people).

enough about me now on to a cure!

We all know there is none BUT......

I have found 1 treatment that seems to work for me. It surely isn't going to appeal to everybody but I am telling you honestly that it works for me. I have found that majiauna knocks me out COLD anytime anywhere doesn't matter. I have a very low tolerance to it, it only takes a couple of drags of it and I'll be out within minutes. Its not a cure but whenever I have needed to make it somewhere important or if my sleep cycle gets back around to messing with a job, if I have access I smoke at the time a average person goes to bed, I go to bed, and I'm out cold for 8+ hours.

I've been treating my self like that for probably 2+ years now. Before that I use to try to stay up for 2 days straight so I could just pass out on the next night at a regular time to reset my clock when it got really bad. But as of the last few years I haven't been able to stay up that long, It's like my body can't handle that any more. It does feel horrible when you try to stay up like that, it's very hard, your dizzy, can't concentrate too much, etc. But now a days if I tried to do it I would just pass out. Before I could still manage drive somewhere during the second awake day if I had to but now I would just pass out on the road or get stuck somewhere because I had to stop ands sleep. Its funny because I just saw online somewhere tonight (I think wiki) where somebody said that doctors actually recommend people to try to stay up 2 days straight like that.

I think the longest I could not actually sleep at all was almost 3 days really. only happened once and others have been close to 48 hours. But now I just use the marijuana to reset my clock. I have noticed one thing the last few times I tried that which was some weeks maybe a month ago; the marijuana could not pt me to sleep for the first time(s) ever! I don't know if I had a bad batch or what but I was just up as usual but High lol I was not happy. Hopefully that was just a fluke though because it has worked flawlessly for a long time. But I still struggle with this because I don't always have access to the Mari Jane or the time to get it, etc, etc.

If your able to try that and see if it works for you then you have a test subject right here that knows it works. I consider it a lot healthier then taking some pills and getting addicted and having to take higher doses. But be warned different people react differently to marijuana, some people are like me, they can take one hit and that's all they can take , and then you have people that it looks like it doesn't even effect them at all, they don't fall asleep there eyes don't turn red, they don't look high, drowsy or anything. I would think that it wouldn't work at all for that type of person that can smoke it like cigarettes and go on about there day.

I hope I don't get kicked and banned but I'm just really trying to help, I'm not a drug addict I don't do any cocaine, crack, hop, or anything close. I refuse to use sleeping pills because I hear they are addictive plus they are man made chemicals so I know it can't be good for your organs over a long period of time. That ought of tell you how I am about stuff like that. I don't smoke for recreation or anything, only to try to sleep and that only takes 2 drags and I'm out like a light (just makes you very relaxed, sleepy and hungry lol).

Hope some of this helps out I'm still fighting the battle.

[pjTranscription]

OMG, so I am not the only alien out there. I can do 4 days and nights without any sleep without trying...not the greatest person to be around but it really stinks not falling asleep or only getting 2 hours of sleep and it starts all over again!

[ddrsi]

Vitamins can really help. Diet with some iron can help also. I'm experimenting with foods and a link with the G.I. tract and sleep disorders. I have seen some good results with resetting the internal clock using light therapy. Did u try that Ave. yet. The future always has hope, it jusrt isn't very much fun getting there! I have to do it with a smile on my face cause of my young children. Find that reason for
keeping positive!!!! positive RULES good luck

[Dione]

Good attitude Sandyboo. Wish I could wholeheartedly feel it for myself, that I am what I am, and that's ok, you know? I still hate waking up when the sun's up so high it's nearly tomorrow! And mornings just don't exist. And whenever I have to go away, stay at my mother's or something, I feel so horrible for 2 weeks, cos I have to make myself get up early every day. And the nights (even though as self employed I can use the nights to do work) -are a little bit lonely, and I feel tired then...just can't sleep till I'm sleepy. Do you think Melatonin really helps? Melatonin is normal body hormone or something? Not drugs? Are there any side effects? Or is it addictive? (Like, if you start taking Melatonin, maybe your own brain doesn't produce it properly any more, so you get worse without it?) I'm scared of trying it, though guess I could buy it online. Scared I'd have to keep taking it all my life.