Table of contents:
- What is ASP?
- Is ASP a medical sleep disorder?
- Who is usually affected by ASP?
- Signs you have ASP
- 1. Already sleepy and want to go to sleep right away even though it's still "noon"
- 2. Woke up too early and couldn't go back to sleep
- 3. Like it overslept activity time
- How to cure ASP?
Of course you have heard the advice that it is good to wake up early in the morning. But if you are among those who can sleep quickly and wake up quickly, this may indicate you are advanced sleepers. Reporting from the Psychology Today page, a recent study (Curtis et al., 2019) from the University of California, San Francisco revealed that some of the world's population are advanced sleepers, which means they are used to sleeping too fast and waking up too quickly. In the medical world, this condition is called advanced sleep phase (ASP). So, is ASP a sleep disorder? Is it dangerous if you are an ASP? Check out this article for more details, let's go!
What is ASP?
ASP is a condition that is owned by people whose sleep schedule starts earlier than normal.
ASP people tend to be asleep between 6pm and 9pm. When compared, Tempo reported that the average adult in Indonesia only starts sleeping around 11-12 at night.
Because they are accustomed to going to bed earlier, their schedule for waking up in the morning is also too early; most wake up between 2am and 5am.
Is ASP a medical sleep disorder?
ASP is a sleep disorder that belongs to the group Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders or disturbed sleep patterns.
Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders or sleep pattern disorders itself are further divided into three main symptoms, which include difficulty starting to sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and not feeling refreshed after sleeping.
However, recent research from the University of California, San Francisco has avoided mentioning ASP (or other synonyms likeadvanced sleepers or extreme morning chronotypes) as a sleep disorder.
Professor of neurology from the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Louis Ptacek, MD explains the new ASP is a sleep disorder (disorder) if the person feels that his habit of sleeping quickly and quickly waking up is something that is unwanted or intentional, and to the point of disturbing his health and daily activities.
Who is usually affected by ASP?
Usually people who get ASP are old people.
Genetics is also a factor. Sleep disturbances are more common in families. ASP is associated with gene mutations, in particular the casein kinase genes (CKI-delta and CKI-epsilon) as well as hPer1 and hPer2.
Children with developmental disabilities are also prone to ASP, including children with autism and Down syndrome.
Signs you have ASP
You may be an ASP if you experience one or more of the following signs:
1. Already sleepy and want to go to sleep right away even though it's still "noon"
The desire to go to sleep early usually starts around 6pm to 9pm.
A person with ASP disorders releases melatonin (the sleep-causing hormone) faster than the average person. This makes the person's body temperature decrease and triggers drowsiness earlier than normal.
This causes the ASP person's biological clock to be disturbed. He will tend to sleep soundly and be restless, which makes him exhausted when he wakes up in the morning.
2. Woke up too early and couldn't go back to sleep
For people who have ASP, they tend to get used to getting up too early; between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., even though he only slept around 7-9 at night.
This “early” waking habit also tends to make them unable to go back to sleep, so people with ASP choose to immediately start their activities at that time.
3. Like it overslept activity time
Louis Ptacek said that people who are quick to wake up are actually quite capable of functioning properly during the day but may find it a bit difficult to stay awake.
A person who has ASP can suddenly fall asleep during the day in the middle of doing an activity or doing something, for example falling asleep while watching TV, while driving, or while eating. This is one result of fatigue caused by sleeping habits and waking up too quickly.
These signs are also what sometimes lead doctors to misdiagnose ASP with narcolepsy. Then you still have to consult a doctor or sleep specialist to rule out other causes, such as:
- Other medical conditions
- Other sleep disorders
- Mental disorders
- Drug side effects
How to cure ASP?
ASP disorder can be cured by returning sleep back to normal hours. There are two ways of healing, namely melatonin supplements and light therapy.
People with ASP can record a daily sleep schedule with a description of when they feel the most sleepy and freshest, so that the doctor can determine the appropriate therapy.
Doctors can prescribe melatonin supplements depending on the patient's age and health condition. While light therapy uses light as a stimulant that is installed before bed. The specialist will determine how bright the light is and the duration of the therapy.
Patients can also try to delay sleep by 20 minutes each day until the sleep schedule returns to normal.
