Idiopathic narcolepsy affects up to 50 people per 1 million people. (representative picture)
A 26-year-old American woman who grew up feeling constantly tired and found herself dozing off at school and dance classes has been diagnosed with a rare chronic sleep disorder.according to new york postModel and digital marketer Alyssa Davis sought medical advice after finding it “impossible” to resist the urge to close her eyes out of sheer exhaustion. Initially, doctors dismissed her by telling her to “just drink coffee.” However, when she enrolled in a clinical sleep study, she was diagnosed with idiopathic narcolepsy, a rare, chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive sleepiness without clear clues.
“It’s like being trapped in the movie Groundhog Day, except instead of reliving the same day, I’m reliving the same exhaustion,” the 26-year-old said. postal.
Ms Davis said she sometimes had to plan for hours to complete simple tasks because her condition affected her thinking, making it persistently difficult to concentrate. “I have to get ready to take a shower because [exhaustion] “This feeling never goes away,” she explains. “I would sleep for 10 hours, 12 hours, sometimes even 14 hours and still wake up feeling like I’d stayed up all night,” she added.
The 26-year-old said she began experiencing symptoms as a child, noting that her mother remembered often having to put her down for naps. She said she was always more tired than her friends and family, which affected her daily life and soon her confidence.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I didn’t get along with sleeping,” she shared. “It wasn’t just the occasional late night. It was a constant, bone-deep exhaustion that often blurred my vision. I’d be sitting in drama class, excitedly doing my favorite part, and suddenly my memory would change. Gotta be vague,” Ms. Davis said.
“The sudden feeling of exhaustion became a telltale sign that I was about to lose consciousness,” she added.
The 26-year-old said she was more fatigued in high school, falling asleep in class and sometimes even having to leave to take a nap. “While tap dancing, I would often fall to the floor, fall to the floor, and not be able to stay upright, and there were countless times when I felt unsafe,” she recalls. “It’s embarrassing and I don’t know what the problem is,” she added.
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Ms Davis said she consulted numerous doctors who allegedly called her “lazy” and “careless”. She then contacted a specialist, who recommended that she participate in a sleep study that required her to sleep for 14 consecutive hours.
Results showed that her body never entered the deep sleep state needed for proper rest. She was diagnosed with idiopathic narcolepsy.
According to the Sleep Foundation news site, as many as 50 per 1 million people suffer from idiopathic hypersomnia. Symptoms include dizziness or lightheadedness when standing, headaches, brief sleep paralysis and brain fog.
