Sleeping Disorders
SleepBlog.com
How do sleeping disorders provoke difficulties for youth?
- Symptoms
- Facts
- Difficulties with daily routine
- Support
Focus : Narcolepsy & Kleine Levin Syndrome
View case studies of teens living with similar disorders and experiencing the same difficulties at the end of this blog post.
KLS (Sleeping Beauty Disorder)
'Sleeping Beauty' Disorder episodes can last a few days or up to several months.
Episodes characterized by bouts of excessive sleeping with cognitive and behavioral issues during wakefulness.
1 in a million people live with KLS
The exact prevalence of KLS is unknown but approximately 70% are male.
Alanna Wong
Alanna was diagnosed with KLS and now helps others cope with their symptoms through her book, vlogs and online blog. http://www.alannawonglife.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/klspatient411
Difficulties Provoked By KLS
Excessive Sleep
Patients sleep between 12 and 24 hours a day only waking to eat or use the washroom. Since this symptom calls for a help with supervision and care during the episodes, the teen can not attend school. The symptom causes a loss of education since there is never no indication how long am episode will last or occur.
Other Symptoms
- Memory Lapse
- Episodes occur between 2 and 12 times a year
- No recollection of the experience
- Symptoms appear with little or no warning
- Signs of cognitive impairment : confusion, diminished comprehension, poor concentrate, memory problems and childish or slurred speech
- Visual hallucinations
- Compulsive eating and heightened sexual urges during an episode
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is marked by sudden and irresistible onsets of sleep
It could be very difficult for patients because they could go from Stage 1 sleep to REM sleep right away within 10 to 20 minutes of time.
Believed to be a genetically inherited trait
Having a family member with narcolepsy presents a 20-40% times higher risk of developing the condition compared to the general population.
Julie Flygare
Julie is narcolepsy advocate. She has launched the Narcolepsy: Not Alone Campaign. Using Youtube, her blog and the memoir Julie also provides support and awareness for this sleeping disorder. https://www.youtube.com/user/jlflygare/ http://julieflygare.com/
Difficulties Provoked by Narcolepsy
Hallucinations
Narcolepsy can cause fragmented sleep with vivid dreams and hallucinations when dosing off or waking up. These hallucinations can be quite vivid and frightening, such as a sense of a threatening stranger or dangerous animal in the room. As a result of these hallucinations teens may have difficulty telling reality from fantasy. They can cause them to become afraid, suspicious and paranoid.
Other Symptoms
- Memory Lapses
- Temporary muscle weakness
- Periods of drowsiness every 3 to 4 hours
- Drowsiness ending in shot naps
- Symptoms usually appear in adolescence or young adulthood
Therefore, being diagnosed and living with sleeping disorders create compilations for youth and their daily lives.