Circadian Rhythms - Is There A Choice? (sleep, ears, natural)

[Catdancer]

I'm a night person by nature. For over 20 years when I worked in construction I got up at 4:30 - 5:00 in the morning and started work by 6:00 - 6:30, at least 5 days a week, often 6. But as soon as I had more than a couple of days off, I'd be up until 3, 4 or 5 in the morning and sleep until 10 or 11. Then back to the grind of trying to get to sleep before midnight all over again. This pattern has continued for most of my life.

Now that I'm older, I've developed sleep apnea and that, along with PTSD has been making sleep a real challenge. Often if I try sleep before midnight, it comes in 45 minute spurts. I wake up, snack, watch tv or surf the net. The only time I get any kind of rest that goes past an hour is after 6 AM when I'll usually sleep without waking until 9 or 10 in the morning. I tried dozens of sleep aids over the years, Melatonin, magnesium, valerian, hops, passion flower, chamomile, tryptophan and most recently, phenibut. (which works pretty darn good) yet still, when left to it's own devices, my body and brain always revert to being a night owl.

Right now, I'm lucky enough to work a job where I basically set my own hours, so I can give in to my body's natural rhythm. I wondering how many of you out there have had to fight to reset your circadian clock to conform to societal standards and if you could make the change stick or have you given up and sought out a night job or second shift job to accommodate your natural nighttime habits?

[Catdancer]

OK, I either shot way too high by using the word, "circadian" or there's a heck of a lot less night people out there than I thought.