When spouses have different sleeping patterns; night owls versus early birds

We all know the benefits of "early to bed, early to rise..." and most people in middle age are forced into this regimen by their commutes, family obligations, a desire to exercise, etc. But a certain percentage of the population (estimated anywhere from 5 to 30%) simply cannot get with the early bird program. Their biological clocks just don't seem in sync with the ability to rise with the sun. It's called "Delayed-Sleep Phase Disorder" and can put you at odds with not only those you work with but also those with whom you live. Other than coffee, what can you do?

The first step in syncing your internal (that is "circadian") clock is to understand that part of it is influenced by environmental cues, particularly light. From the Wall Street Journal:

Light is a key player in the body's circadian clock, which is centered in a tiny cluster of neurons behind the optic nerve called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. The SCN receives light signals from the retina, and in turn, sends signals to the pineal gland, which regulates melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy. Darkness triggers the release of melatonin, while light suppresses it.

Natural light is the most powerful, but artificial light in the evening also delays melatonin and slows down the circadian clock. "If you have klieg lights on in the bathroom while you're washing your face at night, those lights are suppressing the release of this hormone and making it more difficult to get to sleep -- not only on that night, but on successive nights," says Dr. Czeisler.

Dietary suggestions include avoiding caffeine in the evening and cutting out alcohol (which while you might think makes you drowsy actually disrupts sleep patterns).

Of course there is the possibility that the out-of-sync patterns actually work to the benefit of a relationship giving each partner a little time alone (for one it is the early morning and the other it is the late evening).