American culture worships early birds. They get the worms, and everybody else gets the leftovers. There’s no end to the articles talking about how waking up early makes you more productive, healthier, and happier. Many of these articles even seem to imply that early birds are morally superior to night owls.
However, if you’re one of the millions of Americans with Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, the worship of the early riser can be a lot more than just annoying. The discrimination surrounding your later chronotype can quite literally wreck your life; it can do everything from ruining you financially to destroying your mental and physical health, and it’s often so insidious that you might not realize what’s happening.