r/DSPD • u/ktfarrier • 6d ago

Preparing for the morning?

I've had dspd all of my life. My mom tells me when I was a baby, I'd never sleep at night - only in the day. Well, I'm almost 40 now and despite trying to be 'normal', if left unchecked, I revert back to my bed by 5-6am, wake up noon-2pm. That's my sweet spot. Obviously it doesn't work if I want to be a functioning member of society.

I have a dentist appointment in a few days at 10am. What are some of your methods to 'reset'? Pull an all lighter the night before? Prepare a few days prior? What I find I revert to is nap the day before from 8pm to 12-1am, and then stay up until my appointment, come home and sleep. It messes me up even more. I was just wondering if anyone had any insight?

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u/hayh 5d ago

I'd advise against an (intentional) all-nighter, you'll be wrecked. What I do in these situations is try to be as rested as possible beforehand and try to take the pressure off to sleep early the night before - stressing about it will only make it harder. If you have anything that works for you to help you sleep earlier though, do it. For me the best thing is blue light blocking glasses in the evening, for some it's melatonin, etc. I also prep by doing as much as possible the night before: I get everything I need ready, maybe buy a pastry or a banana that I can just grab and go with if I'm able to eat in the morning, put my clothes out, and take a shower before bed so I have as little as possible to do before I leave. In extreme cases I'll even just sleep in the clothes I plan to wear so I can just shuffle out the door the next day. Avoid driving there if you can. The best is if a friend can take you, because then you also have someone to help you get going if you need it.

The best strategy though is to reschedule to a later time if you can. I assume you've already ruled this out if you're asking for help though!

Good luck!

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u/ktfarrier 5d ago

Thank you for this detailed response! It was the sort of answer I've been looking for - options to survive really!! So you really plan it out beforehand. I do this during trips/airports, even if I only get 40 mins of sleep, I can't miss my time. I wasn't able to get a later appointment, but I do often try to ask them if they can take me late.