Sleep is as important to a human being as much is food. One sleepless night and you will feel irritated and fatigued the whole day.
Think about the people who suffer from insomnia or sleep disorders and how difficult it would be to deal with such a situation.
However, there is a treatment for almost everything, so it does delay sleep disorders.
This article will throw light on delayed sleep disorder, what it is, what the symptoms are, and how to treat it.
What is delayed sleep disorder?
Delayed sleep disorder is a condition in which there is an issue in your internal body clock.
Sleep disorder is characterized by difficulty in falling asleep even when you are tired. The sleep gets delayed by 2 hours at least.
If you cannot sleep at your bedtime, you will also experience difficulty waking up because of this disorder.
Delayed sleep disorder plays with your body clock. Mostly, teenagers and young adults suffer from this disorder.
If we talk about figures, 15% of the youth suffer from this disorder. Sleep disorder can occur due to genetics, puberty, or people who already have insomnia or neurological disorders.
The chances of occurrence can be because of an impoverished lifestyle and guilty eating patterns.
Symptoms
A person is suffering from delayed sleep disorder will experience the following symptoms-
1. Facing difficulties in falling asleep – This includes not being able to sleep at conventional bedtime.
At your usual bedtime, your body stays alert and active, and no matter how much you try, you won’t be able to sleep.
You won’t be able to sleep between the period of 1 am to 5 am.
2. Having difficulties in waking up – In delayed sleep disorder since you sleep late, you won’t wake up early at your usual time.
The person’s inner body clock does not tell you to wake up. As a result, even if you wake up early by sleeping late.
You are going to feel exhausted and sleepy for the entire day.
3. Feeling fatigued and sleepy during the daytime – When you cannot sleep at night, you will feel tired and fatigued.
The ability to pay attention and concentrate on things gets hampered.
In the long run, this is going to stem from the inability to recall things.
4. Depression– When you cannot sleep properly or have disrupted sleep patterns, this will cause many psychological problems such as irritation, depression, and being angry at petty issues.
How to treat delayed sleep disorder?
1. Setting up your internal clock – The first and the basic way to treat delayed sleep disorder yourself is to set up a sleeping pattern.
Go to sleep 15 minutes before you go to sleep, usually. By practicing this technique, you will wake up 15 min earlier.
When you get habitual to this pattern, start sleeping 30 min before. In this way, good changes will be facilitated in your body clock.
It is an effective way to treat mild delayed sleep disorder.
2. Chronotherapy – This is the opposite of the point mentioned above.
In this, the person has to delay his sleeping schedule to delay the body clock.
In chronotherapy, the person has to sleep 1-2 hours after his/her usual sleeping time. As a result, after some days when the person feels tired, he/she will start sleeping early.
He/she will fall asleep as soon as they go to bed.
3. Light therapy – This therapy is called bright light therapy. When the person wakes up, he/she has to sit in an area or the garden full of natural sunlight or bright light for at least 30 minutes.
Exposure to natural light helps in the advancement of the internal body clock.
Natural sunlight will enrich your body with vitamin D and help you get a good sleep at night.
4. Melatonin supplements – This treatment is done for people who experience severe effects of delayed sleep disorder.
You can take melatonin supplements, and these supplements consist of a hormone that controls your sleeping cycle.
The supplement should be taken under a doctor’s supervision only by carefully following the doctor’s instructions.
5. Improving sleeping habits and lifestyle changes – Cut down the intake of caffeine, alcohol, and energy drinks as these consist of ingredients that disrupt your sleeping cycle.
Include fruits and veggies in your diet and follow a balanced diet. Do changes in your lifestyle such as workout for at least 30 min every day, practicing yoga, and do meditation.
Most importantly, sleep early every day to avoid staying up late.
Having delayed sleep disorder can be problematic and can come in the way of your daily functioning.
Having this disorder is completely normal and can be treated. If you are diagnosed with this disorder, try consulting a doctor to get this treated.
Follow the ways for treatment mentioned in the article.
