A Pennsylvania teenager slept for 64 days from Thanksgiving into January -- her longest sleeping episode yet.
Nicole Delien, 17, struggles with a rare sleep disorder called Kleine-Levine, or ââ¬ËSleeping Beauty Syndromeââ¬â¢, which affects an estimated 1,000 people around the world.
During her sleep spells she will wake up in a confused state for small periods of time to eat and go to the bathroom and then fall back to sleep.
Nicoleââ¬â¢s mother, Vicki, says her daughter will sleep 18 to 19 hours a day, and when she eventually wakes up to eat she is in a ââ¬Ësleepwalking state which she doesnââ¬â¢t rememberââ¬â¢, KDKA in Pittsburgh recently reported.
The Delien family also appeared on Jeff Probstââ¬â¢s syndicated talk show this week to make sure other families become aware of the rare disorder.
Vicki Delien told reporters that it was very frustrating trying to get a diagnosis for her daughter. She said it took several hospital trips to figure out whatââ¬â¢s been afflicting her.
Finally, a doctor at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was able to pinpoint the disorder and offer some suggestions on how to manage it, including medication.
'Affected individuals may go for a period of weeks, months or even years without experiencing any symptoms, and then they reappear with little warningââ¬â¢ the Kleine-Levin Syndrome Foundation website states.
In addition to excessive sleeping, symptoms include disorientation, hallucination, child-like behaviour, binge-eating and periods of hyper-sexuality when awake, according to an Oxford Journals report.
That report says the disorder predominately affects young males.
