Could i ask – apart from the symptoms mentioned here, does anyone else own a collection of alarm clocks, and still sleep through them ?.

Perhaps, i am a little extreme, i currently own five, all set to go off within minutes of each other and i can sleep through them all.

I live in the UK and simply hate the change in time for british summertime, it can literally take me a month or more to get used to the new schedule – i have to be very strict with myself, no nights out, bed at the same time everyday, the slightest change in my rigorous schedule will throw it completly out and im back to the not being able to sleep until around 2am – i also find that during summer i sleep slightly earlier and wake earlier – might this be light affected ?.

If anyone can help with my experience compared to theirs, please let me know !

Also be careful not to automatically say “I’m a sufferer of DSPS and therefore I’ll never sleep before 3am” because if you continue to play this conversation in your mind… over and over that you can’t help it because you have sleeping problems… then your subconscious quickly buys it…. and proves it to you even more.

When I first found this blog, I was so relieved to find that I wasn’t alone and that there was a name for what I had. It was a comforting feeling… but on the downside – I became more upset and frustrated because of how many people on here can’t seem to cure their sleep problem once and for all – including you Brian. I am doing my grad diploma in teaching this year and when you teach primary, you have to be up really early. Many of the teachers actually arrive at school at 7am. This freaked me out! I was wondering how I would cope…

But I have changed my attitude and my perspective and I am coping fine. I still find it very hard to fall asleep till the wee hours… and I never do…and I always find it hard getting up before 9am… but I force myself and I find after an hour of waking I am functioning okay…and I’m able to get on with my day with little worries… just the odd yawn and sometimes unfocused attention.

I just think though that I’m probably not the only person in my class that didn’t get as much sleep as they would like, for example the ones with young children…. or other worries/ concerns.

So what I’m getting at here – to sum this up – is just remain calm and relaxed about this condition. Don’t let it define you and don’t assume it is incurable. Try eating more healthy – and see if cutting out dairy helps. Just realise that you can function okay and you can always try harder. You are strong!

Think about Patrick Swayze – he was working 12 hour days on film sets right up until he died from pancreatic cancer…. and he was surviving on 5 hours sleep a night. He gave his work everything he had – despite lack of sleep AND cancer. Most of us, only struggle with the lack of sleep…don’t let this be an excuse for why you can’t live to the best of your ability. Fight it and be strong and stay positive :)

A few theories on why this disorder exists. First, if I had to guess, a lot of people who have this disorder are probably whites. A lot of people are descended from those in Scandanavian countries, as the Vikings certainly got around to raping people all over Europe for hundreds of years (p.s., i’m mostly German, Irish and Norweigan). Given their bizarre seasonal patterns, with many months of virtual darkness in the country, having a set schedule was not as important as it was in other societies. My second theory is that given the prevalence of tribal warfare in much of recent society, there was perhaps a tactical advantage to have a number of individuals in any group who were prone to staying up late and maintaining maximum alertness during later hours, as these people could not only keep the watch over your tribe at night, but would also be useful for conducting raids against other tribes while they were asleep. I have to say, I am a rather aggressive person (it’s a good thing i’m kind of scrawny and generally try to avoid fights) and i’m also extremely skittish. Sounds, bright lights, and the like all keep me up. My ideal sleeping condition is a blacked soundproof room. Unfortunately, my girlfriend thinks i’m crazy for wanting to cover the windows with blankets, so that’s not really an option.

I just noticed that this disaster have a name-an hour ago after reading that wikipedia site and after a little search,I found your page. Oh yeah, of course I am among those 0.17% population =) Things are getting worse on long hols,I slept at 2pm till 12 am yesterday,probably I’ll continue this routine untill next semester started in April.

By the way,thanks a lot Brian for sharing!

I have a DRIFTING sleep schedule due to two things. The first, is thaT I’m up longer than 16 hours, and even that varies The second, is that the time I’m actually asleep varies, anywhere from 8 to almost 10 hours. But the final result, is that I usualyl end up drifting around the entire clock! Alarm clocks don’t help. Neither do pills.

I found a temporary cure, but it was situational, albiet exhausting. When I was seperated from my wife, I was living with my mother, and, I also had a job (rare for me), that required that I got up 7 AM to catch the subway to get to work in Queens, NY. I eventually acclamated, however, I was exhausted every day. That went on for a whole 6 months. Now, I’m back with my wife living in my house again, unemployed, drifting around the clock like a lost fish at sea.

This has resulted in profound lonliness, unexplainable unpredictable waking from sleep, and sleeping from wakefullness. I’m in agony, and always end up feeling completely spaced out, isolated, with an altered state of consciousness that’s hard to bear.

I became a computer tech. Not enough to pay the bills, however, I make a small living. My email address is computerdoctor@nyc.rr.com

IF anyone wants to hang out at night at NYC and you’re female, let me know! I have an open relationship with my wife :)

Thanks!