User talk:Lapchair

Welcome...

Hello, Lapchair, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like this place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and ask your question there. Again, welcome! SNALWIBMA ( talk - contribs ) 10:00, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Text moved from article talk page

Hi - I have moved the text below from the talk page at Talk:Delayed sleep phase syndrome because it is not relevant to the talk page, which is for discussing improvements to the article. You might find it helpful to read some of the guidelines, such as WP:Talk page and WP:NOTBLOG. SNALWIBMA ( talk - contribs ) 10:00, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Personal Experience

Hi all I have been reading this wiki and discussion for some time now. My sleeping trouble started as young as 3, but the first time I remember it causing me issues was around 14. I did pretty badly in school because I was always exhausted and still had trouble getting to sleep the next day. I am now 25 and figured it was time to see a sleep doctor to see whats up. Before going to the doctor I recorded a sleep log for about a month to show him. I mentioned DSPS and he said I nailed it, though he called it "onset insomnia" as well as "Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome" (I guess I have both? or maybe they are the same thing?). He said it is not that uncommon with people my age, and that it will get better as I get older. He said it is not a disease, but it is something I will have problems with for quite some time. I inquired about Marijuana, Sleeping Pills, and alcohol. His answer was that they will help get to sleep temporarily, but if you continue to use them that you will reach the point where you don't think you can get to sleep without them. So even though Marijuana may not be physically addicting, in this case it could easily become psychologically addicting. In his words the best way to fight it is by "Attacking the problem on multiple fronts":

Maintain a rigid sleeping schedule (even on weekends).
Use the bed only for sleep and sexual activities.
Cease stimulating activities 30-60 minutes before bed to relax the mind.
Don't try to fall asleep for more than 20 minutes, if it doesn't happen then get up and do something relaxing like read a book, and try again.
Mellatonnin can help induce sleepiness in some cases.
Exercise regularly for general healthiness and to "Burn excess energy" (however do not exercise within 2 hours of bedtime).
Avoid stimulants within a couple hours of bedtime (caffeine, nicotine, sugar).

I can say with certainty that when I exercised regularly I was able to get to sleep significantly faster. He said that even if I follow all of these rules that my circadian rhythm can still be thrown out of sync if I am not careful. With this being a recent diagnosis, I haven't yet done all of the above... but I felt compelled to share some of the information I learned with you guys. The hardest thing for me will be going to sleep at the same time on weekends as I do on weekdays for work. One other thing that has helped me is white noise. I have quiet fan I leave on at night, this allows me to focus on a consistent sound rather than sporatic sounds of cars driving by outside. --Lapchair (talk) 09:22, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. I agree with that person above with the impossible user name: your experiences don't belong on the article talk page. However, I have DSPS.

A good job finding a dr who knows what circadian rhythms are! Many don't, even so-called sleep doctors.

If you were 18 years old, the doctor might let you hope that you'd grow out of it. Not likely at 25.

Sleep onset insomnia may have any number of causes. DSPS is one of them.

Not a disease, huh? Ok, then, a condition, an abnormality. If severe enough, a disability.

Except for melatonin, your list of points above is what's called sleep hygiene. And that's, of course, a good place to start.

If you're going to try melatonin, 3 mg is no longer the standard dose. One mg or even a half is enough. Timing is more important than dosage.

Good luck. - Hordaland (talk) 21:27, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]