N24 awareness website

This is a website dedicated to raising awareness for N24, and other circadian rhythm disorders. There are also some cool interactive graphs further down below, so stick around, read some more, and gain some rare knowledge!

This website has been created by Nightowl (me), to help spread awareness for N24, as I myself have "most likely" had it since I was 10 years old, maybe even earlier, and I (as well as others with N24) have suffered from a lot of ignorance surrounding it, with a lot of rude behaviour/assumptions being directed at us, even from those who are meant to be there to offer us the support and help we need.

I say "most likely" because it is an incredibly difficult and lengthy process to get an official diagnosis for this, which will be discussed lower down.

This website still needs more people to fill out our survey!

The results from the survey will be used for all of the graphs that you see on this page, as well as for providing more detailed case studies.

Read more about the survey.

Currently the data used in the graphs has been estimated by hand! We need more survey results to be able to fill them with real data!

A portion of this website is dedicated for providing a closer look at individuals that have complete our survey, to showcase their sleep patterns; habits; how they're affected by their circadian rhythm disorder; and to provide an insight into their life.

Read more about the case studies.

Circadian rhythms are natural routines that are meant to repeat roughly every 24 hours. They carry out important functions and processes in your body (such as: sleeping and waking times; core body temperature; your immune system; hormones; metabolism; cognitive functions; and your body's reaction to stress), and are meant to be aligned to the natural cycle of day and night.

The circadian rhythms in your body are controlled by biological clocks that are located in the organs and glands throughout your body, however all of those clocks are regulated by a main "master clock" in a part of your brain called the "suprachiasmatic nucleus".

This "master clock" however is actually slighter longer than 24 hours (by around 12 to 18 minutes), and it is adjusted through environmental cues called "zeitgebers" (which is German for "timekeepers", but English uses the German term). These environmental cues consist of things like: light and darkness; your meal times; exercise; social interactions; daily routines; and stress.

Read more about Circadian rhythms.

In German the plural for "Zeitgeber" is still "Zeitgeber", but in an English sentence adding in the "s" suffix makes it sound much more natural.

DSPD (short for "delayed sleep phase disorder", sometimes also called the "delayed sleep-wake phase disorder") is a circadian rhythm disorder in which the person's circadian rhythm is pushed back a few hours relative to the time of the day.

This means that a person with DSPD will go to sleep several hours later (around 3am to 5am), and in turn they'll also wake up much later in the day (around 11am to 1pm). It is also extremely difficult (and sometimes impossible) for them to go to sleep any earlier.

While reading this you might think of "night owls", however DSPD is much more extreme than just a preference to stay awake later in the night.

Read more about DSPD.

ASPD (short for "advanced sleep phase disorder", sometimes also called the "advanced sleep-wake phase disorder") is a circadian rhythm disorder in which the person's circadian rhythm is pushed forward a few hours relative to the time of the day.

This means that a person with ASPD will wake up several hours earlier (around 2am to 5am), and in turn they'll also go to sleep much earlier in the evening (around 6pm to 9pm). It is also extremely difficult (and sometimes impossible) for them to stay awake or sleep for longer.

While reading this you might think of "early birds", however ASPD is much more extreme than just a preference to wake up earlier in the mornings.

Read more about ASPD.

N24 is a shortened form of the "N24SWD" acronym, which stands for the "Non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder". It is a circadian rhythm disorder in which an individual's day length (their awake and sleep time combined) does not add up to 24 hours.

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Read more about N24.

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