TikTok creator Emily (@emilytatouille) says she often needs to take multiple naps throughout the day, even after getting a full night’s sleep. In a video that had garnered 1 million views and 840 comments at the time of publication, she documented a medical sleep test intended to help doctors understand why she struggles to stay awake.
Unlike people who struggle to fall asleep, Emily’s problem is staying awake. She says she typically takes around four naps a day, leading people around her to suggest that she’s sleeping too much and needs to get up. But during this test, napping was actually part of the process — just not whenever she felt like it.
With wires attached to various parts of her face, Emily explained that she had been placed in a hotel room and given forms to fill out. She was also monitored by a camera while following the test’s schedule. Rather than being allowed to sleep whenever she wanted, she had to stay awake between a series of scheduled naps.
Each nap opportunity lasted around 15 to 20 minutes, and the time it took her to fall asleep was measured. After her first nap, Emily said she had fallen asleep in just four minutes and was woken up after 15 minutes of sleep.
TikTok Commenter Shares Her Own Experience With a Hypersomnia Diagnosis
Although she initially thought the test would be a welcome opportunity to nap, Emily soon discovered that it wasn’t as relaxing as she had expected.
“I thought this would be fun. I thought this would be a nice nap. Turns out it’s not, because as soon as you fall asleep, they wake you up,” she said.
After waking up, Emily had to stay awake until her next scheduled nap. She was given something to eat and drink before returning to bed for the second session. She said she fell asleep in four minutes again, sleeping for around 15 to 20 minutes.
By the third nap, however, it took her around 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep. Emily said the doctor told her she was doing well and that the test would help them work toward a diagnosis. After another meal, she prepared for her fourth nap.
By the time she woke up from the fourth session, Emily looked visibly exhausted and admitted that the test was harder than she had anticipated. One commenter said they understood her struggle because they had undergone the same test.
“I had to do this test so I FEEL your pain. I was diagnosed with hypersomnia,” the commenter wrote.
After spending nearly 24 hours in the hotel room, Emily completed her fifth and final nap session. She explained that needing so many naps despite getting a full night’s rest was the reason she wanted answers about her sleep patterns.
In a follow up TikTok video, Emily revealed that the was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia, mainly because she did not attain REM sleep in any of the naps during the medical test.
Many commenters reacted to the video with their own sleep diagnosis, or simply shared their own sleep experiences. After hearing her diagnosis, one commenter said she might have narcolepsy. She wrote, "Omg. Do I have narcolepsy?!? I got to bed and get 7-8 hours sleep. I can barely function. Takes me two hours to get ready and out the door. By the time I drive to work, I could take another nap. A nap at lunch. A nap after work. And to bed early. And heat makes it worse."
Another commenter said that their sleep issues are completely opposite from Emily's. They wrote, "I have the opposite issue where I don't nap at all, can easily stay up until 3 a.m. and wake up at 6:00 a.m. wide awake and still not tired the following day. I HATE IT!!"
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the claims made by TikTok creator @emilytatouille, which are based on her account and experiences shared in the video.
