I’ll be 70 next week, and have had this all my life–I can still remember being spanked, even before kindergarten age, because I made too much noise at night when I couldn’t go to sleep. In my first 50 years I had little choice about when I had to get up (whether or not I had enough sleep), & might fall asleep in the choir at church or teaching my first graders reading. I became self-employed about 18 years ago, which meant I could control my own working hours, and work 2nd shift temp jobs to supplement my income.

I was a single parent, and my daughter learned at an early age to get herself ready for school on her own, because I would barely be able to drive her to school on time. Fortunately she does not have either this disorder or the ADHD and depression I also have.

While I expect to try some of the suggestions on this website such as Vitamin B12, I consider this sydrome as an example of genetic diversity, rather than a handicap or personality defect. Kitchen cabinets are not usually designed for short people, so we use stools, or ignore the top shelves, or find other types of storage possibilities, but we don’t consider ourselves at fault for our height. The older I get, the more I take this approach to being “different” from those around me.

I try to avoid work or other situations that require early rising when I can, I use whatever means I have to when I have to be somewhere early (such as staying up all night), I socialize with others in the afternoon or evenings, and I let other people know this is a physiological trait, not a moral one.