Short Sleeper Syndrome

Short Sleeper Syndrome is a type of sleeping disorder in which a person does not sleep more than four to five hours in a day and even less than that. Eight hours of sleep is considered necessary for a healthy body and mind and a normal human being sleeps on an average for 7 to 8 hours in a day. The people with this syndrome, despite sleeping for such a short period of time, do not feel the urge to sleep or take a nap at any time in the day.

They function normally like other human beings and sleeping less occurs naturally with them. 

There is a difference between a person having Short Sleeper Syndrome and persons who willingly restrict their sleep.

Those who willingly limit their sleep will have the urge to take a nap in the day or a long sleep at weekends to complete their sleep and relieve their body of all the stress. But for a person with short sleeper syndrome it is natural and does not feel sleepy at any point of time despite sleeping less than the average time. 

Causes of Short Sleeper Syndrome 

The only cause of this syndrome known so far is gene mutation. A study was conducted into 2014 to identify the cause of the short sleeper syndrome. The study was conducted on two identical twins. They both were asked to do the same task after sleeping for the same amount of time and the twin which had the mutated gene of short sleep performed better than the twin with no gene mutation. However scientists believe that this is not only due to a single gene but more than one gene. 

Symptoms of Short Sleeper Syndrome

Short sleep is the one and the most important symptom of this syndrome. It is not considered a disorder because it does not create any problem for the patient as he or she can function normally like others despite their short sleep. If you face symptoms like difficulty in falling asleep, waking up frequently while sleeping, feeling sleepy throughout the day etc, you might have some other sleep problems and you should seek advice from a doctor immediately.

Diagnosis of Short Sleeper Syndrome 

The doctor will ask you a few questions  generally about the number of times you wake up while sleeping, how much time do you sleep in the whole day? Do you feel sleepy during the day? etc. It is very easy to diagnose it in people who have this syndrome from early childhood but different tests may be required in patients who are victims of this condition because of denying sleep. The tests conducted are– 

• Polysomnography – In this test the condition of the patient is observed while he is fully asleep and this test is conducted in a special lab. Various details of the patient such as heartbeat, brain waves, oxygen levels etc are recorded and analysed to diagnose the situation.
• Actigraphy – In this the patient is asked to wear a special type of device on the wrist to record various details such as the time spent in sleeping and the time awake.

Treatment of Short Sleeper Syndrome

We all know that the human body is designed to sleep at night and stay awake in the day. The National Sleep Foundation has recommended a few measures which should be followed for a healthy sleep which include- 

• Avoid tea and coffee before bed as it contains caffeine which disrupts your sleep.
• Do not eat or drink anything before bed which you know can cause digestive problems.
• Some people think that consuming alcohol helps to sleep well. All though it can make you fall asleep but when our body processes it then it disrupts our sleep.
• Exercising regularly has a lot of health benefits and it can also help in getting a good sleep. Hence one should exercise daily for at least half an hour.
• Try to maintain adequate conditions for falling asleep such as your room temperature should be normal and the lights should be switched off and there should be no noise in the room. These things may help you in getting a quality sleep.

There are various other techniques such as light therapy and chrono therapy which help in the treatment of Short Sleeper Syndrome. In the light therapy a special device is used which produces light which is similar to the sunlight while chronotherapy involves training the brain by following a strict schedule of sleeping and waking up. Most persons who have this condition naturally from childhood do not require any special treatment as they don't have any problem but the people who are undergoing the condition of short sleep because of denying sleep require the above treatments.