Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder – A Sleep Problem of Teenagers

Delayed sleep phase disorder is a type of sleep disorder that affects people in their teen years and about 7-10% of teenagers experience this problem. Many of those who suffer from this problem will see it disappear as they enter adulthood but about one percent of this group will continue to experience the problem. There is a possibility that the disorder will be confused with insomnia.

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder

People suffering from this condition will tend to stay up late at night and only go to sleep by about four or five in the morning and tend to wake up late in the day close to early afternoon. Due to their irregular night habits, they are often compared to owls that tend to move around only at night.

Many teenagers get into the habit of sleeping in late as they tend to socialize and move around at all odd hours of the night. But, some of these teenagers might also have this habit as their natural circadian rhythm has become altered and delayed.

People suffering from this problem often find it very difficult to wake up in the morning and get to school on time. Even if they try to sleep at normal bedtime, they do not fall asleep till wee hours in the morning. This phenomenon although resembling insomnia is different as people with this condition have no problems with remaining asleep once they get it. They experience a high degree of problem in waking up on time in the morning and tend to remain drowsy through the day and might even go to sleep while attending classes. Although the causative factor for this is not known, it is known to have a bearing on the natural circadian rhythm.

People trying to overcome this sleep disorder might have to resort to different methods like chronotherapy, bright light, over-the-counter or prescription sleep medication and melatonin.

With chronotherapy, the treatment usually lasts for about a week and usually needs the person to stay away from classes during this period. With this therapy, the bedtime is postponed by about three hours every day till their desired bedtime is reached after which it is maintained constantly. An example, is if the person wishes to sleep everyday at 10 p.m. but is able to get sleep only at 2 a.m. the treatment is begun with the person sleeping at 5 a.m. on the first day and 8 a.m. on the second day and so on for a week by which time the actual sleep time will be reached. Waking up time is also monitored once the desired time to retire to bed is reached.

This sleep disorder is also benefited by the use of several types of medications. Melatonin is one of the medications that is helpful in altering the sleep cycle of patients with this problem. Use of sleep medications like Ramelteon and several other products have also attained good degree of success in overcoming the problem.

If you have a teenager at home who tends to remain awake till late in the night, it is always possible that he/ she might be suffering from Delayed Sleep phase disorder and might require management and treatment.