Real Life 'Sleeping Beauty' Spends 22 Hours A Day Sleeping Due To Kleine-Levin Syndrome, Rare Neurological Disorder
Beth Goodier experienced her first episode of Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS) back when she was 16. Today at 20 years old, Goodier often suffers from episodes that last for weeks and keep her asleep for 22 hours out of the day. While her friends have either moved out of their parent’s house or went away to college, Goodier is stuck at home due to the constant supervision she requires from her mother.
"When she's up, all she does really is, she's either in bed or on the sofa and she'll watch telly, often the same things over and over again as she likes predictability,” Beth’s mother, Janine Goodier told the BBC. “On the odd time she's well, we don't say any more, 'We'll do that next week.' We do it now when she's well because that might be the only time you get."
In addition to a seemingly endless amount of sleep, Goodier is also affected by binge eating and behavioral changes, which include child-like behavior and dream-like feeling. After coming out of an episode that has caused her to sleep through the majority of a week and eat unhealthily, Goodier usually spends her time exercising, blogging about KLS, and trying to live the normal life that her condition has robbed her of.
According to the KLS Foundation, KLS, also known as “Sleeping Beauty” syndrome, is a rare neurological disorder that causes recurring periods of excessive amounts of sleep, altered behavior, and a general misunderstanding of the world. KLS patients are usually diagnosed around the age of 15 and often have to wait 10 to 15 years until they grow out of it. An estimated 1,000 people around the world are affected by this disorder, including 40 in the UK.