Living with Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

I have been continuously diagnosed with chronic insomnia and variously treated for it with no real effect. Now, after six years and me constantly explaining that once i GET to sleep i’m ok (its the getting to sleep and getting up thats the problem at a socially acceptable time thats the problem) they’ve finally decided it might be Delayed sleep phase syndrome instead.

They still think it may be insomnia too, as my nightmares disrupt my sleep sometimes and I move about a lot in tandem to the actions in my nightmares (many a time have a accidentally swiped at my boyfriend in the night, thinking i was killing a zombie). Also, my long term depression and anxiety made specialists think it was insomnia.

But now I’ve read up on Delayed sleep phase syndrome, after they mentioned it to me yesterday (i’ve been researching it ever since), it sounds SO MUCH MORE like what I have. I sleep around 4-6am every night, and I get up at 12-1pm when I can. If I have to get up early (for others a ‘normal’ time) of say 8 or 9, I am totally bushed all day. I just want to sleep through the afternoon. But no matter how tired I am at night, I still won’t sleep again till 4-6am! I find it much easier to sleep in the mornings.

This is much more akin to the symptoms of Delayed sleep phase syndrome than your basic insomnia. I’m actually pretty glad it might be Delayed sleep phase syndrome, simply because I can then start working on curing it. I can’t fight a disorder if no one will tell me what it is!