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Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS), also delayed sleep-phase disorder (DSPD), is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder affecting the timing of sleep, peak period of alertness, core body temperature, hormonal and other daily rhythms. Delayed sleep phase syndrome is a persistent condition and one of the most common complications of sleep-wake patterns.

People who have DSPS fall asleep some hours after midnight, no matter what time they go to bed, and they have this difficulty of waking up in the morning. The person’s tendency to fall asleep is simply “delayed” in relation to what is usual. Subsequently, a patient with DSPS is desynchronized with the routine that governs most of his or her life.

DSPS patients are also called “night owls”. Often, if a patient wakes up early, like 7am, they suffer a difficulty in functioning well for school or for work. But if they sleep for a full 7 to 8 hrs, they feel well-rested through-out the day and will only sleep again until after midnight.

DSPS is quite different from insomnia (which is often mistaken as the case). Unlike insomnia, people with DSPS actually get plenty of sleep and only wakes up until their body says it’s time. It’s just that they sleep differently from what we are used to.

The cause of Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome is unknown but it often occurs inpatients who experienced head trauma or serious illness. It also usually develops in early childhood or adolescence and sometimes disappears in early adulthood. Some patients take drugs to get them to sleep but it’s not advisable since patient might get dependent.

There are known treatment for DSPS.

One is Chronotherapy. It resets the circadian rhythm by manipulating sleep-wake cycles. Often, chronotherapy must be repeated every few months to maintain long-lasting results.

The sleep schedule may look like this:

• 1st night: sleep at 4 a.m., wake at 12 p.m.
• 2nd night: sleep at 7 a.m., wake at 3 p.m.
• 3rd night: sleep at 10 a.m., wake at 6 p.m.
• 4th night: sleep at 1 p.m., wake at 9 p.m.
• 5th night: sleep at 4 p.m., wake at 12 p.m.
• 6th night: sleep at 7 p.m., wake at 3 a.m.
• 7th night: sleep at 10 p.m., wake at 6 a.m.

Another treatment is Light Therapy. Since exposure to sunlight signals that it’s already morning to common people, an artificial light is can be use to treat patients. They often receive bright light therapy at home, with the use of a light box. A light box emits a standard dosage of 5,000 to 10,000 lux (a measure of illumination) of white light. The patient sits in front of the light at a specified distance for approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour after waking in the morning.

There are also other ways to cure DSPS like avoiding caffainne, alcohol and tobacco, making a slight variation to sleeping and waking times, doing some morning exercise and practice stress reduction technique.