Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

Delayed sleep phase syndrome is a sleeping disorder which is experienced when a person's internal biological clock is unable to get synchronized with the external environment. Due to this de-synchronization, a person is unable to fall asleep and might take as long as two hours to do so. Majority of people who suffer from delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) do not fall asleep before two in the night and hence are unable to wake up early. Below are the causes, symptoms and treatment options for DSPS.

Causes

People usually acquire this condition after their sleep wake pattern gets disrupted on a regular basis due to reasons such as studying, working or partying late into the night. Such people, even after they resume their normal schedule, are unable to sleep on time. Adolescence is the time when this condition normally develops in a person, though DSPS in children has been reported too. This condition rarely affects people once they cross thirty.

The medical reason behind DSPS is still not known yet certain things such as any injury or trauma to the head, brain injury, any serious illness which disrupts the biological clock as well as the circadian rhythm of the body, can lead to delayed sleep phase syndrome.

Symptoms

• People who suffer from this condition, either are unable to sleep, and think that they suffer from insomnia or they might feel excessively sleepy throughout the day.
• People in this condition are unable to fall asleep like normal people, they take a lot of time falling asleep.
• Since falling asleep takes a lot of time, the person is unable to wake up on time either.
• A person in this condition might be suffering from depression and anxiety as well.

Treatment Methods

Bright Light Therapy
To treat DSPS, bright light therapy, which involves exposing the patient to an artificial light in the morning and avoiding any kind of light exposure in the evening, is often recommended by doctors. To give bright light therapy to the patients, they are exposed to a light box that emits white light to the tune of 5000 to 10000 lux. The patient has to sit in front of this light box in the morning for about thirty minutes or as suggested by the doctor. Some of the side effects which this therapy can produce in a person are hyperactivity, headaches and certain eye problems if appropriate ultra violet filters are not used.

Chronotherapy
In this procedure, the sleeping and waking up cycle of the patient is manipulated, i.e extended by three hours everyday to establish a twenty seven hour day. This is continued till the patient is able to sleep on time and after that a normal twenty four hour sleep pattern is started. The sleep schedule in this therapy will be something like the following.

• First Day - Sleep at 2 a.m. And wake up at 10 p.m.
• Second Day - Sleep at 5 a.m. And wake up at 1 p.m.
• Third Day - Sleep at 8 a.m. And wake up at 4 p.m.
• Fourth Day - Sleep at 11 a.m. And wake up at 7 p.m.
• Fifth Day - Sleep at 2 p.m. And wake up at 10 p.m.
• Sixth Day - Sleep at 5 p.m. And wake up at 1 a.m.
• Seventh Day - Sleep at 8 p.m. And wake up at 4 a.m.
• Eighth Day - Sleep at 11 p.m. And wake up at 7 a.m.

Chronotherapy can interfere with the other medication that a person might be taking. So, before starting this therapy, patients should consult a physician who treats sleep disorders and discuss all the precautions that have to be taken along with this treatment.

Besides these therapies, sometimes sleep inducers such as Melatonin may also be suggested to some patients, though because of its adverse side effects, it's not a very widely used treatment for delayed sleep phase syndrome.

Research has shown that people with this sleeping disorder are able to overcome it on their own without any treatment, provided they inculcate certain sleep hygiene habits. Some useful sleep hygiene habits to outgrow this disorder are eliminating caffeine and alcohol from the diet, exercising regularly but during the day, taking a hot bath two hours prior to sleeping, drinking a warm glass of milk just before sleeping, making sure that the room and the bed is clean, quiet and comfortable and lastly, taking measures or undertaking activities to reduce stress such as yoga, breathing exercising and meditation.