Woman with 'sleeping beauty syndrome', can sleep for 22 hours a day!

Heather Reed

Heather Reed, 37, was diagnosed with Kleine-Levin syndrome - also known as 'sleeping beauty syndrome' - two years ago. On a good day she sleeps for around 12 hours but some days her illnesses can be so bad that she needs 22 hours of shut eye. During her seven-year battle with exhaustion she has lost her job and has social life has been dramatically affected.
Ms Reed, from Nova Scotia, Canada, said: 'It certainly has an impact on my life. I feel like a ghost.
'I went from my healthy life to not being able to get out of bed, because the fatigue was so crushing and all encompassing. I was tired to the point where it physically hurt.
She added: 'I only spend about eight hours awake a day.
'If you try and compact everything you need to do into eight hours, it’s just not possible. I am able to do very little in those limited number of hours.
Ms Reed first noticed she was suffering from problems sleeping when she was left exhausted after recovering from a three-month viral infection. Doctors diagnosed her with ME and she assumed her long periods of shut eye were a symptom of the chronic fatigue condition. But in 2014, she had emergency kidney surgery and she noticed she had more difficulty sleeping during her recovery period. Concerned that her condition was becoming increasingly unmanageable, she went to the doctor to try to explain what was happening. She was then referred to a neurologist, who diagnosed her with KLS - which is believed to affect around 1,000 people across the world. Typically, KLS sufferers go through episodes where they sleep for most of the day. These can last for days or weeks.
On a good day, she will sleep for 12 hours through the night, followed by a two to four hour nap during the day. She also suffers from neurological problems like forgetfulness and muscle pain that limits how much she can do when she is awake.
Her illnesses mean she has had to miss many social occasions, including family parties and gatherings.  But many people are left completely unaware as to her illnesses and have no idea about how her life is affected by sleep.