Teens & Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder

Some people have a circadian clock that makes them “evening types.” These “owls” have a natural tendency to stay up late at night and sleep late in the morning.

Children tend to become night owls as teens because of a shift in the timing of their circadian clocks. This change causes them to feel sleepy later at night. As a result they also prefer to wake up later in the morning.

But as CNN reported last week, some teens may have an extreme change in the timing of their body clock. They may be unable to fall asleep until late at night or early in the morning. Then they may want to sleep until later morning or early afternoon. This problem is called delayed sleep phase disorder.



Insomnia symptoms can be severe when a person with DSP tries to go to sleep at a “normal” time. Excessive daytime sleepiness also can occur when he or she has to wake up early in the morning.

Teens with DSP can have a hard time in school. It can be difficult for them to conform to an early morning school schedule.

But there are effective treatments for DSP. It can be treated by taking melatonin in the afternoon or early evening. Another option is to use bright light therapy in the morning.

Both treatments can help “re-set” the body clock of a person with DSP. This can help normalize the timing of sleep.

“The way to treat delayed sleep phase is give light, in particular blue light like the light in the sky,” AASM member Dr. Jeffrey Durmer told CNN. “It activates a part of the eye that activates a part of the brain that keeps the circadian rhythm under control.”

DSP treatment should be supervised by a board-certified sleep specialist. It is important to determine the proper timing and dose of treatment that is required.

Get help from a board-certified sleep specialist at an AASM-accredited sleep center near you.

Last month a study reported that teen sleep patterns may be disrupted by a lack of exposure to morning sunlight. The researchers proposed that the problem can be solved by designing better school buildings.

Read more about sleep and teens.

What’s Your Chronotype? Understanding the “Lark” and “Owl” Circadian Sleep Patterns

A New York Times column examines the factors that contribute to your preferred sleep schedule.

This is also called your “chronotype.” It turns out that your DNA has a strong influence on when you like to sleep.

Some people have a circadian clock that makes them “evening types.” These “owls” have a natural tendency to stay up late at night and sleep late in the morning. Children tend to become night owls as teens because of a shift in the timing of their circadian clocks.

Some night owls have delayed sleep phase disorder. This involves a struggle to conform to work or social demands. It can be difficult for them to function well during the day.

Other people are natural “morning types.” These “larks” prefer to go to bed early and wake up early. Adults often become larks as they get older.

Some larks have advanced sleep phase disorder. They fall asleep several hours before a normal bedtime. As a result, they also wake up hours earlier than most people wake in the morning.

So do larks have an advantage over owls? After all, it was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

A study in 1998 put these words to the test. It found no evidence that larks were healthier, wealthier or wiser than owls.

Not everyone fits neatly into the categories of morning or evening types. Many people are somewhere in between the larks and the owls.

And many factors such as genetics and light exposure affect when you are sleepy and alert. A new study in the journal Sleep examined some other factors.

It involved 5,720 college students at two universities in Spain and Italy. Results show that females went to bed earlier and slept longer than males.

Nationality also had a significant effect on sleep patterns. On average the Spaniards went to bed and woke up later than the Italians.

The study even found a significant but small “season of birth” effect. Subjects born in spring and summer went to bed later than those who were born in fall and winter. A study in 1999 reported similar findings.

Image by Rachel