Hypernychthemeral syndrome

Hypernychthemeral syndrome, or non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome, is a very rare neurological sleep disorder. There is a chronic disturbance of the circadian rhythm.

The syndrome is characterized by a regular pattern of a daily progressive delay in the patients' sleep and recovery time of 1 to 2 hours, which means that the patient's sleep and wake periods begin to progress later.

As a result, the patient's participation in social life is made more difficult and in addition to chronic fatigue a number of health disorders can occur, which can be derived from the lack of daily synchronization of cortisone, body temperature, blood pressure and glucose metabolism.

These can include a weakened immune system, weight gain, fibromyalgia and diabetes mellitus. Very often patients also suffer from mental problems, such as depression or anxiety. There is often a lack of acceptance and understanding of the disease, which can further weaken a person's self-confidence and personal relationships with "non-24".

The impact on school, work and family can be significant. The syndrome mainly affects blind people but can rarely occur in sighted people. It can occur for the first time both in childhood and adulthood.

Therapy options include a light therapy (bright light in the morning) together with the administration of a melatonin preparation. This should stabilize the circadian rhythm of the body.