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apparent when i was medically withdrawn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