A 38-year-old woman in the UK is being dubbed the real-life 'Sleeping Beauty' for her unusual ability to sleep for hours at a stretch. According to a New York Post report, she can sleep for up to 22 hours every day due to a rare disorder. The woman identified as Joanna Cox from Castleford, West Yorkshire in England, claims that she once slept for four days without waking up.
Ms. Cox was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia in October 2021 after she struggled for years to stay awake during the day. The rare condition leaves people with extreme daytime sleepiness - often resulting in struggles to wake up and feeling "unrested" and "mentally foggy".
''I can't be woken up once I'm asleep. I wake up not knowing what day it is or how long I've been asleep. It's honestly ruining my life — I'm like a real-life Sleeping Beauty,'' she told SWNS, as reported by NY Post.
She survives on protein shakes and ready meals because they're 'quick' to consume before she falls asleep again.
Ms. Cox first began experiencing symptoms in 2017 out of nowhere when she noticed herself feeling extremely tired during the day. She found herself falling asleep in unusual places including in a club during a night out and behind the wheel of a car. Her condition got so bad that she had to quit her job in 2019 due to her inability to stay awake.
She then visited a lot of doctors, who ended up misdiagnosing her condition. Finally, in October 2021, doctors referred her to a sleep clinic at Pontefract Hospital in Yorkshire, where it was revealed that she had idiopathic hypersomnia.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition causes the sufferer ''to be very sleepy during the day even after a full night of good sleep.''
''It also often causes difficulty waking up after you've been asleep. If you take a nap, you generally don't feel refreshed and you may wake up confused and disoriented,'' the clinic wrote.
The cause of the condition is yet unknown, and there is no existing cure. The mum-of-two has tried lots of different therapies and medications but has not found anything that helps relieve her symptoms. She is now desperate to find a doctor who can help her manage her symptoms.
