The Rise of Sleep Disorders and What We Can Do About It

my entire life

i’ve been considered an exceptional kid

i was always placed in advanced classes

and always brought home a 4.0 outside of

the classroom i played soccer for 10

years

the violin for six and continued to be

an avid artist

so yes some outsiders these things may

seem

exceptional but to me there’s a lot more

that goes into this

seemingly natural success i first

started struggling with sleep management

fresh out of elementary school

it felt like no matter how much i slept

i was never fully rested and this

constant exhaustion developed into

sleeping for

12 plus hours a night and struggling to

keep my eyes open during the day

i also started sleeping through things

that were important to me too like

holidays and soccer practice

and all of this combined ended up

putting a strain on my relationship with

my family

the narrative became that i was lazy and

uninterested

which i convinced myself was true so

to combat this i started fighting off

sleep

i did this to maintain my grades and

reputation

which all worked at first but quickly

began to take a toll on me

and my wellness this became especially

apparent when i was medically withdrawn

from high school and sent to residential

treatment for an eating disorder

about halfway through my stay i started

sleeping through wake-up calls

nothing too uncharacteristic of me but

then i started sleeping through meals

and then groups

and then the time between meals and

groups

it got so bad that the regional director

had to pull me aside and tell me

tegan you either have to find a way to

stay awake during the day or find

somewhere else to go

i was left in shock but fortunately

i didn’t have much time left in my stay

anyways and was discharged naturally

but then intensive outpatient treatment

came around

and during this time my sleep got even

worse i was

napping for multiple hours a day at home

as well as sleeping through programming

i was given the same threat once again

and this time

ended up being kicked out of treatment

for good

i had never been so depressed and angry

in my life sleep was now sabotaging my

school

family life and recovery

and i knew something needed to be done

but it wouldn’t be until a month

later that i would receive a sleep and

nap study

at this study i was hooked up to

multiple electrodes

bands and wires and given the night to

sleep as well as five naps the next day

my mom and i were told to anticipate

about three weeks for results

but were instead contacted the very next

day

where the specialist told us that i have

something called narcolepsy

my mom cried a bit and i honestly didn’t

know whether or not to

join her because on one hand there was a

valid medical reason behind my struggles

but on the other i was just diagnosed

with a chronic

neurological disorder which is a lot to

take in as a 16 year old

but that’s also essential to my story

and

what makes me one of the lucky ones

what do i mean by this well for starters

there is a gross misunderstanding of

sleep disorder symptoms and how sleep

disorders present

second people are getting diagnosed way

too late and convincing themselves that

there’s nothing wrong to begin with

and third there are still very negative

connotations surrounding

having a sleep disorder or having

something wrong with you in general

i think my experience with narcolepsy

sums us up pretty well

because it’s estimated that only 25 of

people with narcolepsy

are diagnosed and people with narcolepsy

experience an

average eight year delay in diagnosis

from the onset of symptoms

also let me ask you this what do you

know about narcolepsy

because chances are you can probably

only think of the comedic relief

character from a tv show

or a sleepy ant falling asleep at the

dinner table

both of which are not great

representations

or educational sources for that matter

i’m one of the lucky ones because i got

diagnosed young

i have the rest of my life to live with

answers and resources and

accommodations sleep disorders

are at epidemic levels and we just

don’t seem to be doing anything about it

for example one in four americans

experiences insomnia

and millions deal with sleep apnea but

that’s just the tip of the iceberg

chances are you either know somebody

close to you with a sleep disorder or

you yourself have one and might not know

it

the importance of a good night’s sleep

is severely undervalued in america

in a paper i read making the argument

for schools to start later i found a

couple graphs that perfectly depict how

this

negative mindset towards sleep is

impacting us

and teenagers in particular

in graph one you see the average amount

of sleep

per yearly age group already not off to

an

incredible start considering that

according to the american academy

of sleep medicine six to 12 year olds

should be getting about 9 to 12 hours of

sleep while teenagers should be getting

about

8-10 but then you come to the second

graph

which shows the discrepancy between

average sleep on days off

to school and work days for this group

of teenagers and young adults in

particular

there is nearly a three hour difference

between the two which is not okay

those three hour changes take a major

toll on the body

and mess with your circadian rhythm as

well as basic performance

it’s a major issue but where do we start

well there are many ways to go about it

but i recommend

starting within start by asking yourself

how your own sleep is going

which you might initially say it’s going

all right but it’s important to keep in

mind

that things like excessive fidgeting in

bed persistent snoring or gasping

not feeling tired until well after

midnight or excessive daytime sleepiness

and hallucinations as you fall asleep or

wake up

are all not normal if you notice any of

these in yourself well then

ding ding ding it’s time to reach out

this is undoubtedly a hard thing to do

but it’s also your own responsibility to

deconstruct

any internalized stigma or guilt you may

feel

and take the first steps towards

improvement anyways

if you’re just unsure of where to go

here are some safe bets

for starters going to your family is a

good first step

they are likely going to provide you a

safe space to practice

advocating for yourself in a low

pressure environment

this is also a good place to gain

supporters and people who believe you

next i recommend going to your doctor’s

office they have

numerous referrals and resources at

their disposal

you just need to voice a need for them

now depending on who your doctor is or

where you live

you may experience some roadblocks or

even discrimination at this step

but i encourage you to keep going

there are good doctors and specialists

out there willing to

do their job and listen to you it’s just

a matter of finding them

so please don’t let one doctor’s

ignorance

be what’s holding you back from getting

the help you deserve

now for this next place this isn’t

somewhere we’d typically go

to address sleep but rather one i think

would be extremely helpful

if we did i say this considering that

40 percent of adolescents and up to 50

percent of kids experience sleep

problems that significantly

impact them and their wellness and

lots of these kids don’t have access to

doctors or medication

so teaching the importance of healthy

sleep habits in something like a

school health class could benefit many

our curriculum for health classes ever

expanding and changing as it is

so why not include sleep education

also teaching this in classrooms could

help take the pressure off of students

if they know that the teachers

responsible for their grades and testing

are also on board with them

putting basic biological needs like

sleep

before their schoolwork they’d likely be

more inclined to

follow through and do so

now as for bringing up sleep and therapy

mental illness and stress have a major

impact on sleep and vice versa so

targeting one could help you target the

other

there’s already a very similar concept

in both cognitive

and dialectical behavioral therapy

called sleep hygiene

sleep hygiene is extremely

straightforward and consists of things

you’ve likely already heard before

for example being smart about when you

have certain meals or beverages

is extremely important you don’t want to

try and fall asleep hungry by any means

but trying to fall asleep when you’re

overwhelmingly full or hyped up on

caffeine and alcohol

is not helpful either also

you need to stay out of bed during the

daytime

i like to emphasize this especially

while we are still in distance learning

because the longer you stay in bed

during the day

the less your brain begins to associate

your bed strictly to sleep

what this does is it makes it a lot

harder for you to fall asleep when you

want to

at night now to reinforce my claim

earlier trying therapy can be

a game changer for many a lot of people

are turned off by the idea of finding a

good therapist or

even by the stigma behind mental health

care

but it’s also an extremely rewarding

experience once you do find that right

fit

and are able to effectively work on

things that are keeping you up at night

moving on to things you can do before

bed creating a routine

is honestly just the best way to go

about things

staying away from screens for at least

30 minutes before bed brushing your

teeth

making your space comfortable and

conducive to you and putting on pajamas

are just a few of the things you can

incorporate

i also find including a specific sensory

task to be beneficial

this can be something like applying a

specific scented lotion

right before you fall asleep and at no

other time to help

strengthen the association between the

two

now once your routine is done it’s

important to keep in mind that if you

don’t fall asleep within 20 minutes of

going to bed

you have to get up do something else and

try again at a later time

your brain is really smart and you don’t

want your bed to become somewhere

associated with

discomfort and frustrated writhing

now above all else consistency is key

with sleep and sleep hygiene

your sleep schedule should not be

fluctuating much at all between days off

to work and school days because contrary

to popular belief

there is no such thing as catching up on

sleep

what you get in a night is what you have

to work with the next day and there is

no

reserve or cash for sleep so it’s

important

to be consistent

things aren’t going to change overnight

and that’s okay a little over a year ago

i was completely withdrawn from my

recovery

and the things i love due to my sleep

but

now with new found education and

resources

i’m able to do great things like earn my

ged and

give this talk today i’m no longer

afraid

to put my wellness first and neither

should you

if your sleep is suffering you deserve

help

and i encourage you don’t be afraid to

challenge the stigma that has been

pushed on you stating otherwise because

your sleep is worth it thank you

you