Advanced Sleep-Phase Syndrome (ASPS)

A scientific name to describe people who are “morning larks”? Do we need to a medical term for this? Is this making a normal aspect of some human life into a disease, a case of “disease mongering”. Maybe. But sleep researchers and therapists use the term and it does describe a segment of the population and is useful for research into the mysteries of sleep.

Advanced Sleep-Phase Syndrome is when the circadian phase is shifted earlier, so the person rises early and goes to bed early, The exact length of time is somewhat undefined and up to the diagnosing physician, but ASPS patients sometimes wake up refreshed as early as 2 or 3 AM and feel the need to go to bed at 7 PM.

Is this shift necessarily bad? No unless it interferes with their lives. Social demands may make it uncomfortable for the person with ASPS and if they are expected to drive a car when they are drowsy in the evening, that can be dangerous. Work and school schedules may be difficult to work with, but people with the condition generally manage to do so.

Melatonin levels, blood pressure, hormone levels and other circardian markers also shift in people with ASPS. Body temperature is at its lowest earlier in the morning than for
people without the syndrome. This syndrome runs in families. You even see the phrase “Familial advanced sleep phase syndrome” in the scientific literature. Although some of this tendency is learned, no doubt, researchers have also identified an inherited component in it. Indeed, animal studies have found genetic control of the circadian cycle.

Therapy is confined to behavioral changes and possibly phototherapy. Although it is possible to make a person sleepy or alert with drugs, and short-term shifting of the circadian cycle may be possible with melatonin, these are not long-term solutions. Light therapy - the exposure to artificial light to reset the circadian clock - is the best artificial method. Exposure to daylight can also help.

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