I woke up at 7pm today. Tomorrow I'll probably get up at 9pm. Around this time next week, I'll be waking up at 7am.
This is normal for me. I have a rare-ish circadian rhythm disorder known as #Non24. My sleep cycle doesn't track with the sun. It's not at all rare amongst people who are blind, but it's rare amongst sighted people.
I also suspect it's actually more common than believed & there are people out there reputed to be lazy, immature, or erratic when they just can't sleep normally.
@sysop408 I was just chatting with @OldUncleMike about this! He also has a Non24 circadian rhythm.
I have a delayed sleep syndrome that shifts my circadian cycle back so I normally go to sleep at 2-3am and wake up 9-10am.
But it’s mostly a 24-25 hour cycle that I can keep in check. I just have a hard time syncing with most folks during regular biz hours. I think non24 and delayed/skewed circadian cycles are definitely more common, but as you said, people just get called lazy or whatever…
@Oldandcranky YES. A lot of folks think they have insomnia, when it just a different circadian rhythm.
When I discovered the term "delayed sleep phase syndrome" everything clicked. I had been going through life as if I was permanently jet-lagged.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder
Shifting to a freelance work-at-home lifestyle and allowing myself to sleep my body's natural rhythm was life changing. I was no longer mentally and physically exhausted all the time.
@eatthelove @Oldandcranky @sysop408 @OldUncleMike
DSPS/N24 person here. If anything disrupts my natural sleep pattern (3am to 11am/noon), especially trying to get up early to sync w/ diurnal folks' expectations, it sends my sleep cycle wildly out of control. My sleep cycle tends to creep forward a little on its own, and if I just let myself "free run" it can have me in completely N24 mode. But my body & mind seem happiest and healthiest when I'm sleeping in that 3am to 11am/noon sweet spot.
100% agree. An friend once coined the term “free range sleep” allowing your body to sleep when it’s tired and not because of societal expectations. I have fully embraced it.
All that said, I understand my privilege that I can do that. I have a job that (mostly) let’s me make my own hours, as well as a husband that fully understand and supports my non-traditional sleep patterns. Not everyone had that luxury.
@Oldandcranky oh! Yikes! That’s sounds exhausting.
And I’m sure the advice you ALWAYS got was “just go to bed early!”
As if that was helpful at all. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sheldon
Irvin Lin
OldandCranky
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