napping - a huge problem

Hello there,
My name is Ariel and I am a PhD student. I've been having this problem almost since I was a child and now I cannot afford to have it anymore.
I sleep 5-6 hours a night (from 1 am to 6/6:30 am usually) and one and a half to two in the afternoon (from 2pm to 4pm).
The problem is that I cannot have these naps at least 4 days a week when I am at school.

I become so tired around 2 pm that I cannot keep my eyes open let alone to concentrate to the lecture, to read, to write. It happened to me twice to fall asleep in class... It has become a nightmare the afternoon classes because I have to be there but I cannot follow anything. I badly need to sleep.

I would like to change my routine but I don't know how. I literary am not able to stay awake an entire day. Most of the times, if I can't get my nap at 2 pm, I get it from 6 to 7...and then I am messed up..not being able to do anything.

If I forced myself not to sleep in the afternoon I can do it, but after 1 PM I literary am good for nothing and stay like this the rest of the day. My brain is so tired that I can't read one single page..and I just look at the clock and wait until a decent hour to go to bed: 10 pm or 11 am. And then I wake up after 5/6 hours and the nightmare starts again: being extremely tired in the afternoon.

Do you have any idea how could I sleep 8 /9 hours in row during the night and stay awake for the entire day?

Thank you very much.
Ariel

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

Understand your predicament. You could be having an entity called delayed phase syndrome, where in the biological clock is reset and occurs late. It is a circadian rhythm disorder. There is a circadian rhythm for all living organisms. It is a 24 hour cycle rhythm and the biological clock within that individual adapts to this rhythm. This can be reset by bright light therapy, sleeping pills and sometimes by sleep debt. In sleep debt, though you happen to sleep late, you condition yourself to get up early; this in turn will help you to sleep early. Also, avoid napping, this will help you to sleep earlier. So, try this, but if your symptoms still persist, I would advise you to discuss your symptoms with your primary care physician who may then refer you to a sleep specialist for further evaluation.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.