From a lively and dynamic young woman, Bella Andreou now spends most of her time in bed due to a rare condition that causes her to feel sleepy all the time.
In our busy lives, everyone wishes to get more sleep each day, but that doesn’t mean spending most of your time in bed, unable to control when sleep will hit you.
Bella Andreou suffers from a rare disorder that makes her sleep more than 20 hours a day.
Bella Andreou, a 24-year-old woman from Newcastle, England, unfortunately suffers from the Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS), also known as the “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome.” This condition causes those afflicted to feel drowsy all the time, waking only briefly at times. Bella sleeps for over 20 hours a day. Those around her have witnessed her falling asleep during vacations, performances, while serving as a bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding, and even at her own birthday party.
Bella has expressed that she has always struggled with anxiety each time she goes to sleep, fearing that she might not wake up the next day.
The first time the young woman experienced insomnia was in 2016 after a party; she was drunk but then fell into a brain fog that led to a continuous sleepiness lasting 10 days, although Bella initially thought it was just a hangover.
From the age of 17 to 18, every four weeks, Bella would go through a similar episode that lasted between 7 to 10 days each time. However, she mentioned that she visited doctors who believed she was just “overreacting.”
According to Bella, the term “Sleeping Beauty” fails to capture the severity of this condition; it is more than just a persistent nightmare that leaves her feeling dizzy and anxious. From being an independent, vibrant, and outgoing person, the young woman has turned into someone completely different whenever the drowsiness strikes.
“For months, I lived in fear that I would go insane and be locked away. If you have a nightmare, you wake up soon after falling into a dream or something, but my nightmare lasts continuously for 10 days,” Bella said.
From a lively and dynamic girl, Bella now spends most of her time in bed due to a rare illness. (Photo: Kennedy News)
Meg Stone, Bella’s fiancée and an engineer, mentioned that sometimes Meg has to take time off work to care for her, waking her periodically so Bella can eat something before drifting back to sleep.
“It’s a very strange situation. Sometimes I miss her; the reality is that she’s still there, but it feels like she’s not present,” Meg said.
Bella feels that sometimes this condition has “stolen time” from their time together, but fortunately, her fiancée remains by her side and supports her. The young woman only hopes others can understand and not ridicule her for seemingly sleeping all day. Because not only do those with Kleine-Levin Syndrome sleep excessively, they also face many other symptoms such as: exhibiting child-like behavior when awake, anxiety, brain fog, sleep disturbances… placing both physical and mental strain on them.
