I’ve struggled with sleep for nearly as long as I can remember. Since this week’s healthy goal is to get more sleep, I thought it would be appropriate to make an educational post about a specific type of sleep disorder, called delayed sleep phase disorder, that it often misdiagnosed as insomnia.
I was diagnosed with insomnia about 2 ½ years ago and have tried a couple of different medications to manage it. They worked in the beginning, but neither were the real solution I needed for normal, restorative sleep. So I’ve just continued struggling. Save for the nights I take melatonin, I don’t count on getting what you’d call a good night’s sleep.
Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder: An Under-Diagnosed Condition
About four or five years ago, before my insomnia diagnosis, I was researching sleep disorders. It was then that I came across a circadian rhythm disorder called delayed sleep phase disorder. Sitting at my computer around 3:00 a.m. reading an article, I began to cry. It was if the article was written about me! I wasn’t crazy! I wasn’t just stubborn or lazy or insane! There were enough other people with sleep troubles similar to mine for there to be an actual name for the problem.
