Everything is a Damn "Disorder" or "Syndrome" Now

[mbarrick]

Hey there, gothy people. Early mornings the bane of your existence? Have trouble forcing yourself to bed before 2 a.m.? No longer are you simply a "night owl"... Now you can be one the tragically hip with your very own post-Modern "syndrome" complete with snappy 4-letter acronym: DSPS. Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome.

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/delayed.html
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/publications/sma2.3.cfm#2
http://www.sleepdisorderchannel.net/dsps/
http://sleepdisorders.about.com/cs/dsps/a/nightowl.htm
http://www.about-sleep-disorders.com/html/delayed-sleep-phase-syndrome.php3

Having "suffered" from this "syndrome" my whole life I can tell you that it isn't "caused" during adolescence any more than people "turn gay" in their teens. About 1 in 15 people have this "disorder" -- only it is not a disorder, it is a specalized social function. The articles above talk about the difficulty people with DSPS have operating within "societal norms". Right-- because they aren't supposed to. All social species have specialized groups for specific functions. The purpose and function of "night people" seems pretty obivious to me: night people tell the bedtime stories to the rest of the tribe, we watch the fire and keep the wolves at bay, we paint the magical animals in the dark end of the cave for the shamen. Night people perform the mystery plays after dark. Night people are the artists, storytellers, bonfire-builders, festival organizers, and night-watch. The "normal" people depend on the night people for the entertainment and magic that creates the cultural glue that keeps the tribe together, and they depend on the night people to watch over them while they sleep.

Comments

[sovietnimrod.livejournal.com]

A doctor once told me that syndrome is Latin medical terminology for "...don't ask us because we haven't got a flying fuck clue what causes it"

Classic, popular examples include IBS or "Irritable Bowel Syndrome"...

[valerian.livejournal.com]

LOL! *snort*


Hey, nice icon by the way, Dave!

Icon

[sovietnimrod.livejournal.com]

If you read one of my earlier posts, you'd know that my latest icon is King Zog I of Albania.

Despite coming from an übermacho Albanian bandito background, the guys still looked dapper when he worse his hat tilted - if I tried that when in the imperial Nimrod uniform, I'd just look like a big ol' fag.

Re: Icon

[valerian.livejournal.com]

Haha!

Well, I haven't been on LJ much lately as I've been quite busy, so I think I've missed out on a lot of what's going on in the world...

Re: Everything is a Damn "Disorder" or "Syndrome" Now

[tnkgrl.livejournal.com]

So true... Thanks for writing that!

[seymour-glass.livejournal.com]

not unlike the one i was writing about the other day pmdd, premenstrual dysphoric disorder...of course the symptoms are exactly like pms...

i'm far more of a night person than day person, i just have to adjust because of my job...but on holidays even if i'm doing nothing i'm up until 3 or 4 in the morning...

[alifeinexile.livejournal.com]

Great Post!

[logik.livejournal.com]

Hey,

Syndrome or not, it can be a real bastard. Naming it as a syndrome is misleading however. Back when I took neuropsych we studied a lot of sleep related disorders, and in fact between 1 in 5 and one in 15 (depending on the region) people have a diurnal rhythm that is nocturnal and no amount of drugs or therapy will reverse it.

I myself suffer from this, and have had to take large measures in my life to control it.

It does tend to be genetic. So I’m not surprised that it hit me. Both my mom and dad and grandparents on both sides were nocturnal, and photosensitive.

You are right, there is an evolutionary basis for this. In primitive times a certain percentage of the population would have been required to stay guard, hunt or co9nduct other activities at night. Those of us who have DSPS are not “ill”, wer are just optimized for different activities than the mainstream person.

[six-v2.livejournal.com]

thanks for clearing up a problem i was haveing with understanding myself, i can now sleep well and soundly at the thought that i have aquired a lable for my 'problem'the world it seems has become a better place thanks to this information.

dose this mean i can get disability? i could use some free liveing i have a disorder....

[mediavictim.livejournal.com]

Last year when I quit my job , within 5days days I couldn't get up before 10:00 and couldn't sleep until 2:30 am .

Of course when you start getting up at 7:00AM each morning EVENTUALLY your body clock adjusts to the new times (currently I can't sleep in past 9:00 am on my days off)

[mbarrick.livejournal.com]

When? Damnit! When?!

I've been dragging my ass out of bed between 6 and 7 a.m. for my job now for the last three years and I'm still not getting used to it. My body clock just isn't in the same time-zone. Actually, even if I *change* time-zones to my advantage, in a day or two it wears off and mornings are hell again.

re: when? Damnit! When?!

[bdallaway.livejournal.com]

I've been at my 9-5 for 10 years and still can't get up before 10:30am on days off. I just can't get to sleep before midnight. Even if I crawl into bed at 11:30 I still wind up reading until 1am. Then I sleep in and am late, but good thing the bosses here are really easygoing.

[nicosian.livejournal.com]

I've been a hard wired night owl for as long as I could remember. It drove my morning person mother nuts to the extent it was one of the reasons I moved out at 17.

Some day, we'll overthrow the tyranny of the day people and live free.

I like your reasoning for us nightfolk.