I woke up this morning and was so frustrated with myself for never being able to wake up like normal people do, that I decided to look up melatonin. I read an article recently that said it was the sleep hormone our brains secrete, and I thought, “Well, it seems like my brain doesn’t know when to secrete melatonin, and when to stop!”

Then, I found the Wikipedia explanation of Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, and I actually broke down in tears as I was typing a note to my mom about this breakthrough. I’m not lazy! I’m not just undisciplined!

My mom, and the aunt that I live with are still skeptical. My aunt still insists on telling me that she has “trained” her brain to wake up at a certain time, and if I would just go to bed earlier…

But these articles I’ve read today, including the stories of others, show me that I’m not alone. I’ve had these symptoms since I was 11 years old! In college, I would usually fall asleep around 2 or three, and I have pushed the alarm button an average of 8 times a day since I was in middle school.

People would always tell me to go to bed earlier, but as I nodded my head (because they couldn’t be argued with), I knew that going to bed earlier would only result in me falling asleep later than normal, and in wasted hours of productive time. If I went to bed early, I would lay awake for hours and hours, (time that I could have spent working) and pay for it doubly the next morning when I lost hours of productivity to sleepiness and naps.

Well, I’m buying myself a full-spectrum light ASAP!