The 12 Disturbing Sleep Disorders

12. Lastly…

Fatal Familial Insomnia

It may be the most common, but then again it’s still one of the most bizarre sleep disorders out there. We naturally fall asleep, it’s how our bodies react to exhaustion. But it’s still odd how some people still don’t sleep.

This is a condition which begins innocently, as a person would first have trouble going to sleep, and would escalate to the person not being able to sleep at all after a few months (Phillips, 2014). The insomnia itself isn’t the main problem, but the adverse side-effects of a person not being able to sleep is what is worrying, The body begins to have abnormal functions to the autonomic nervous system leading to the body having difficulty controlling blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature (Phillips, 2014).

Fatal Familial Insomnia is not currently treatable, and is a very aggressive disorder (Phillips, 2014). It can last from 6 months to 3 years with almost an inevitable progression towards coma and death with an average survival span of 18 months (Phillips, 2014).