So, a couple months ago a post about sleep crossed my dash, and it was... mostly accurate, from what I can tell. There was one part, however, that was definitely not always accurate. Because of this, I'm here to go into the basics of some circadian rhythm disorders. Only the basics, because anything to do with sleep or the human brain is... complicated and weird. Research is still being done.
So, we're gonna start with the first obvious question:
What is a circadian rhythm?
A circadian rhythm is the thing that keeps your body on a schedule. It's why people tend to go to sleep and wake up at around the same times every day. It's supposed to be roughly 24 hours long and in theory, it takes cues from light. That's why you've likely been told to put away all electronics some time before you go to bed.
But like anything to do with the human body, sometimes it doesn't function quite normally.
Sometimes that's a temporary thing, like if a person affected by caffeine drinks coffee too late in the day, or if you take a flight to somewhere several time zones over. When you're sick, you might sleep more than normal because rest is important for fighting off illnesses. That's normal, and you should get back to normal fairly soon.
Sometimes you have a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. That's more of a problem.
Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder
This one's kind of what it says on the tin. If we say the average bed time for a human adult is 9:30 pm and the average wake time is 5:30 am, then someone with Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder might function best if they fall asleep at something like 3:00 am and wake up at 11:00 pm.
This is not them being lazy or anything, this is just how their body works, and you can probably see how it can make existing in society a bit difficult. This might also be difficult to get diagnosed with before adulthood, because with children and teenagers it gets written off as perfectly normal behaviour. (A number of schools should probably be starting later in the day than they are.)
Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder
This one's kind of the opposite of Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder. If we keep the same hypothetical average bedtime of 9:30 pm, then someone with Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder might be ready to pass out at 4:00 pm and wake up at midnight. You might be able to see how that can also make existing in society a bit difficult.
Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder
It's called Non-24 for a reason. Someone with this has a circadian rhythm that doesn't stick to 24 hours. Trying to stick to a 24-hour day can result in many problems, like symptoms of sleep deprivation. That's extremely unhealthy. Sometimes, though, someone with Non-24 does manage to stick to something resembling a 'normal' rhythm for short periods of time.
Non-24 is most common in people who are completely blind, as they're not necessarily getting the light cues from sunrise and sunset that people with sight are supposed to get. However, Non-24 can occur in sighted people, it's just much rarer. That's why, near the start of this post, I said the circadian rhythm in theory gets cues from light.
Non-24 can hit you at any age, including childhood, and you really ought to be able to figure out why this disorder can make living 'normally' difficult. Hard to keep a regular job when your body thinks you should be sleeping during your shift half the time. Hard to do well in school when your body won't keep to a 'normal' schedule and you're ready to pass out in 3rd period. Hard to keep up with friends in your area when half the time, you're asleep when they're available to hang out.
There are things someone with these disorders can try to help them keep to a 'normal' schedule, like light therapy and melatonin, but there is no guarantee that they'll work. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can't 'fix' a circadian rhythm. Making yourself wake up at the same time every day might just result in you being constantly sleep deprived. Sorry. It's not fun.
Look, sometimes your sleep's just fucked. If you've been trying all the things you get told to try in order to fall asleep at the 'appropriate' time of night and you still can't, you might want to talk with your GP about finding a specialist.
Also, it turns out that if you've been lying in bed for over an hour trying to fall asleep, you're supposed to just get up and do something for a while, not just keep lying there. Pretty sure lots of us would've liked it if our parents knew this when we were kids.
Also also, stop making school start early. Kids and teens need their full nights of sleep to stay healthy and grow properly, capite?
