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How Your Bedtime Is Affecting Your Job Performance

Tips for Coping with Work When You Have a Sleep Disorder

Misperceptions Regarding Delayed Sleep

Misperceptions about people with delayed sleep abound.

"People for whom sleep is not a problem have a very difficult time understanding why delayed sleep is such a problem," says Mansbach. "They ask, 'Why not simply get up earlier and go to bed earlier?' They believe, based on all their own life experiences, that if one gets up earlier and gets tired enough, one will fall asleep earlier as well. But delayed sleep people cannot fall asleep until very late, even when tired."

"Those who do not understand this conclude that delayed sleep people are simply undisciplined or lazy," adds Mansbach. "Some think the disorder is imaginary, or that we don't try hard enough to get on schedule."

Mansbach makes an important distinction between delayed sleep and insomnia. “Allowed to sleep on their body's preferred timing, delayed sleep people have no problem sleeping,” he says. “It is only when they go to bed before their body is ready to sleep that they cannot fall asleep. Primary insomnia is difficulty sleeping at any time.” 

The worst advice anyone can give to people with delayed sleep, according to Mansbach, is, “Just force yourself to get up at the desired time every day—your body will adjust." 

 

  • Nancy Ancowitz

    Nancy Ancowitz is a business communication coach specializing in career advancement and presentation skills. She is the author of Self-Promotion for Introverts(R): The Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead, a Publishers Weekly "best book" selection. Read more...