All my life, I have struggled with genetic heredity concerning sleep. My father, though a night owl by apparent choice, nevertheless had a specific circadian pattern that did not align with the sun -- one that I inherited. Growing up, I was oblivious as to how regimented my life was for the preservation of my health. If I failed to sleep at certain times, I would be doomed to be awake up to three nights straight, followed by two weeks of circadian reconstruction. My mother tried very hard to keep me aligned with the sun, which sleepovers and other late-night activity would inevitably destroy, leading to many boring and restless nights of sleep management. Although bedtime ended up being typically between 10:30 pm and midnight, my creative peak lay in the 1-3:30am bracket. My most brilliant writing and art and ideas have been produced at this point. Come high school, things like early morning seminary devastated my body (as it was held at 6 am, which meant getting up much earlier for the day's prep). It was never out of a laziness or lack of desire that I would skip these additional classes. Sleep deprivation became a regular part of life expectation, with shallow sleeping until much needed weekends or vacations. It was not until the administration of my mother could not directly reach me that my own frailty became apparent; ie: I went to college. The first three months of freshman year were decent, but due to unforeseen multifaceted tragedies that blossomed at the end of my first stab at independence, my ability to maintain a normal-appearing lifestyle were broken. Perhaps permanently.
Now the big revelation is this: my sleep condition has a name.
Delayed sleep phase syndrome
DSPS is chronic, and it is close to, if not impossible to change. It's not me just being obstinate, reckless, or lazy. Believe me, I've endlessly tried to keep up with the sun. But as researchers of the syndrome have found, it's exactly like living in "6 hours worth of jet lag." The interesting thing about this beasty, as opposed to insomnia or other sleep disorders, is that if the individual is allowed to sleep at the time the feel most comfortable, they will sleep as perfectly with the same length of time as the average sleeper. I have found this consistent in my own life. Sadly for me, I fall into the moderate to severe category of the syndrome, as my natural bedtime lies between 2-5 am, with occasional stints at 7 am. Since moving back to Provo, I have not had a daily job requiring me to get up early. This has allowed me to "sleep in" (according to the rest of the world) and actually get a full 10-12 hours of rest. Although not practical, it has been better for me. At the same time that it must be acknowledged as a socially affecting syndrome -- what is too late and bothersome for normal folk is game time for me. And for a household with a husband who gets up early for an intensive work schedule, the home needs to be quiet and appropriately dark so he can achieve full rest too. The solution that I have had to maintain has been one of silent, dim activity outside the bedroom, often falling asleep on the couch/floor/sprawled over the two office chairs... Obviously not the best of choices, but still under development.Now that I have come to know the nature of the beast I wrestle with, and the things that may/may not help me change, I need to figure out what this will mean for future jobs, and more importantly, life when I have children. It is very possible for the syndrome to afflict more than one. Better that none of them have to deal, but I will know what to look for. An interesting dynamic lies ahead.
Anyways, if you would like to learn more about this for yourself, your children, for the lives of friends and coworkers, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome
http://delayed2sleep.wordpress.com/
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