What are circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSD)?

A circadian rhythm sleep disorder is when the sleep schedule in your internal body is a mismatch for what's going on in the outside world. Sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD, explains this disorder and ways to treat it.

Transcript

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Circadian rhythm disorders are basically where your sleep schedule in your internal body is a mismatch for what's going on in the outside world.

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Circadian rhythm sleep disorders are a fascinating group of sleep disorders that actually many people have throughout their lives.

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A perfect example is with teenagers, where they like to stay up late and sleep late, but it doesn't really affect their overall social scheme

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of things. They have to go to school. They're having problems. A lot of people have what's called delayed sleep phase. That's where, again, you want to stay up late and sleep late.

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Believe it or not as you get older, you can have the opposite effect. You want to go to bed early and wake up early.

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Circadian rhythm disorders are basically where your sleep schedule in your internal body is a mismatch for what's going on in the outside world.

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There are a lot of different ways that you can treat these sleep disorders. And we'll talk about that next. One of the treatments I love to use with my patients

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is light therapy. These are commercially available light boxes that you can pick up online. And you don't have to have the box right in front of your face. You just have it off to the side, for example.

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If you're a delayed sleep phase person, where you're staying up late and wanting to sleep in, having that light box in the early morning hours help

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stop the production of melatonin, gets you more alert, gets you through your day. If, however, you have the opposite,

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where you like to go to bed early and wake up early, then you would use the light the opposite time of the day, again, to help your body know exactly what time it is.