Is it Insomnia or Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome?

It seems like you can never fall asleep when you want to; if you try, you might anxiously lie awake for hours. In the morning, you're exhausted.

You could suffer from insomnia, or a disorder called delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS). Here's how to tell the difference.

If you have insomnia, you may be unable to fall asleep even though you're very sleepy. You may wake up several times during the night and have a poor quality of sleep. Your symptoms may come and go according to your stress level and emotional state.

If you have delayed sleep phase syndrome, the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep is not your problem. If you are able to stay up until you actually feel sleepy, you usually don't have trouble falling or staying asleep. If you aren't forced to wake up early, you will naturally sleep a reasonable amount of time.

What is delayed sleep phase syndrome?

Delayed sleep phase syndrome is a chronic circadian rhythm disorder. If you have DSPS, your "internal clock" is out of sync with the world around you.

In other words, it's like you constantly have jet lag.

You may have tried many times to reset your sleep schedule, finding it very difficult. Sometimes it works for a while, but the minute you get a little off schedule, you're back to the same old problems.

If left to yourself, you will fall into a routine schedule of sleeping very late hours; for example, from 4:00 A.M. to noon.

Symptoms of delayed sleep phase syndrome

What follows are some of the symptoms listed in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD), which is published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Inability to sleep until the early morning hours, even if sleep deprived.

Difficulty waking up in the morning.

A "night owl"; has drowsiness and difficulty concentrating in the morning; mind feels sharpest at night.

This sleep pattern has been observed for at least three months.