- Did you wake up tired this morning?
Well, for some of us, we struggle with sleepiness,
and it can put a huge damper on our day and our health.
But for others it's far more serious
and requires medical attention.
- [Narrator] Ryan Gezlani's struggle with sleep
goes all the way back to high school.
- It started probably in my junior,
senior year of high school.
I would just fall asleep any time.
I didn't think anything of it, you know?
It's like, everyone falls asleep in class,
especially the boring subjects.
- [Narrator] What he initially brushed off
became a struggle as he continued
his education and began working.
- I was always really frustrated after lunch
or in our team meetings, I would
just slowly drift off to sleep.
I think I fell asleep in almost every meeting.
- [Narrator] Ryan's co-workers noticed that something
was off and encouraged him to get some help.
So Ryan went to take a sleep study.
- Ryan had a overnight study
followed by a daytime nap study.
Night study, he fell asleep too fast.
He slept most of the night without interruption.
And then, when he had the nap study
he fell asleep each nap he took and he fell asleep
too deep, too fast, in two out of five naps
and that was enough to make a diagnosis of narcolepsy.
And this is what we call eye-movement, so if you...
- I had an answer, you know?
This sort of explains so much in my life.
- Well, it's a chronic neurological condition.
It's a disorder when someone develops,
usually in childhood or early teens,
and it's persistent throughout the lifetime
and requires treatment in order
for patient to be functional.
The most common sign of narcolepsy is excessive
daytime sleeping and it can happen even after you sleep
all night without interruption.
What we know about narcolepsy, it is a problem
with a brain chemical called hypocretin or orexin.
So, if you have low level of this chemical, you tend to
be sleepy because this chemical is wakefulness chemicals.
- [Narrator] The first step was getting Ryan on medication
to help fight his daytime sleepiness.
- Medication, we use what we call
wakefulness-promoting agent, so something to help
to stimulate the brain and make them function better,
kind of mimicking what the brain chemical does.
- [Narrator] Next, doctors worked with Ryan
to help him schedule his sleep.
- It's going to give you a little bit more comfortable sleep
and maybe your wife, comfortable sleep.
- It's important to have good sleep hygiene.
Go to sleep a certain time, sleep seven or more hours.
Same bedtime, same waking up time even in the weekend.
It's very important because it help them recharge
their batteries so they can have a better daytime.
- [Narrator] These changes transformed life for Ryan.
- I'm definitely a lot more productive at work.
It was like a veil lifted over my head.
I'm so much more clear, I see things more clear,
I can be able to process things so much faster,
my attention's better.
- [Narrator] With his symptoms under control,
Ryan could also concentrate more on
what mattered most, his family.
(Ryan chatting with his family)
And I'm a ten times better father, husband.
It's really cool to see that you're able
to be present at all their achievements.
I'm able to do a lot more things with my family,
take my kids out to the park or
to their soccer game, or whatnot.
- He's doing well.
If you diagnose someone early in life
you can empower them to do better.
Even if they have symptoms of excessive
daytime sleeping or those sleep attack.
If they do have other features,
they need to ask the family doctor,
internal medicine doctor, to be
referred to see a sleep specialist.
There is treatment options available
and there is a way to get better.
- Being tired shouldn't ever stop you from doing anything.
It's not stopping me at all.
I take my kids out, we go out, we play,
we always have something busy, you know?
My life's really good now.
...two, ready, set, here we go!