AmericaBecause of a rare disease, 26-year-old Alyssa Davis often falls asleep uncontrollably at school, dance classes and even at work.
The female patient soon realized that her body had an abnormality when she “could not resist the feeling of wanting to close her eyes due to exhaustion”. Davis sought out doctors and medical experts, but did not receive a satisfactory explanation. They simply advised her to “drink more coffee”.
It was not until she participated in a clinical study in 2023 that she discovered she had idiopathic sleep dysfunction. According to the Sleep Foundation, this is a rare chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive sleepiness of unknown cause. The disease affects only 50 out of a million people. Symptoms of the disease include dizziness, lightheadedness when standing up, headaches, short-term sleep paralysis and brain fog.
Davis began showing symptoms as a child. Her parents often have to let her take a nap. She suffered from constant exhaustion, to the point that her vision blurred. Sometimes, while sitting in class and excited about her favorite subjects, she suddenly feels low on energy and falls into a deep sleep.
Davis’ fatigue increased as he entered high school. She fell asleep in class and even had to leave just to take a nap. Davis recalls how she often collapsed from exhaustion while practicing dancing, then couldn’t get up again.
Davis said she sometimes has to plan for hours to complete simple tasks. This condition causes the patient’s thinking to be hindered, completely losing the ability to concentrate.
“I have to prepare carefully just to take a shower. I sleep for 10, 12, sometimes 14 hours and when I wake up I still feel like I’ve been up all night,” she said.
After participating in the sleep test, Davis was asked to sleep for 14 consecutive hours. The results showed that her body had never entered the deep sleep state needed to truly rest.
Currently, her doctor prescribed a special medicine to treat this condition. Davis shares her story to help the community raise awareness about sleep disorders, encouraging people to seek appropriate medical attention.