Posted by Barney Rubble on February 09, 2002 at 07:18:16:

In Reply to: Dawn Rising - Advanced Sleep Disorder posted by GottaSleepinMD on February 09, 2002 at 00:40:14:

Do some research on Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome(DSPS) and Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome(ASPS). I have DSPS which means I wasn't able to get to sleep until the early morning hours(i.e. 5am) and would be wide awake at 11pm. People with ASPS typically can't stay awake past 8pm and wake up early(i.e. 3am) and are wide awake at that time and can't get back to sleep. These two disorders are referred to as circadian rhythm disorders caused by a shift in the body's internal clock. I think my severe apnea help to cause my DSPS since I needed to be in bed much longer just to get a minimal amount of sleep which caused me to get into work later and later each week until I ended up getting into work at 2pm each day instead of 8am. This was followed by getting to bed later and later each week.

You might want to also search the "rest of the disorders" section on this website since I think that's where stuff is posted on DSPS and ASPS. Also, sometimes people post stuff related to DSPS and ASPS on the insomnia forum since these circadian rhythm disorders are often confused with insomnia.

Both DSPS and ASPS can be treated with Bright Light therapy--the use of special 10,000 lux(i.e. very bright) light boxes. Since I have DSPS, I need to use my lightbox for 30 minutes each morning. People with ASPS would use a 10,000 lux lightbox for 30 minutes in the late afternoon or early evening. The "bright light" causes a shift in your body's internal clock. I've been using my lightbox for about 2 months and I've shifted my bedtime(i.e. time when I'm sleepy) back about 5 hours to midnight from my original 5am bedtime. With continued lightbox use, I hope to shift my bedtime back to about 10pm but that may take awhile since it's been a very long time since I've been able to get to sleep at that time.

By the way, before I found this website, I also had never heard of these disorders before--I just thought I had a really bad case of insomnia since sleeping pills didn't seem to have any effect on me. Even my doctor was diagnosing insomnia until I brought up DSPS since I was able to get to sleep but just not until 5am. He agreed and I started the lightbox therapy at home and have been improving ever since.

Any questions or comments, just ask away! That's what these message boards are for.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Dawn Rising - Advanced Sleep Disorder Dawn Rising 13:04 2/09/02 (1)
  • Re: Dawn Rising - Advanced Sleep Disorder Barney Rubble 15:46 2/09/02 (0)

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