Sleeping Beauty Syndrome is Something Very Real

No doubt as a child you have heard the fairy tale of sleeping beauty. The little beauty who was put to sleep because someone was jealous of her beauty. The only way to be awaken she had to be kissed by Prince Charming. At least I think that is the way the story goes.

However, in reality there is a disease that makes people go to sleep for days. It is called Kleine - Levin Syndrome, or KLS and is a rare neurological disorder characterized by recurring periods of excessive amounts of sleep and altered behavior.

According to Wikipedia encyclopedia, "At the beginning of an episode the patient becomes drowsy and sleeps for most of the day and night (hypersomnolence), waking up only to eat or go to the bathroom. When awake, the patients whole demeanor is changed, often appearing "spacey" or childlike. When awaken, they experience confusion, disorientation, or complete lack of energy (lethargy), and lack of emotions (apathy). Individuals are not able to attend school or work or care for themselves. Most are bedridden, tired and uncommunicative even when awake."

The disorder primarily affects adolescent males aged 15 - 25 yrs. They may also experience hallucinations. When present, symptoms may persist for days to weeks. The symptoms are cyclical.

Also they may experience excessive eating, hyper sexual behavior, euphoria, delusions and schizophreniform states.

The disorder appears four times more common in males than females, and may be related to the malfunction of the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that governs appetite and sleep. At any rate thankfully, the symptoms disappear with advancing of age.

These symptoms are not to be confused with teen laziness and excuses for not having a get up and go attitude for life.

If you or a loved one are experiencing Kleine Levin Syndrome, Dr. Mignot's lab located at the University of California can help or at least educate you on what you are dealing with.