Tips for Beauty

Louisa Ball, 15, has earned the nickname 'Sleeping Beauty' thanks to a rare condition that causes her to sleep for up to two weeks at a time.

Louisa Ball suffers from a rare condition called Slepping Beauty Disease, which causes her to sleep for up to 12 days at a time Photo: WORLDWIDE FEATURES

Miss Ball, from Worthing, has slept through school exams, dance competitions and entire family holidays thanks to her unusual condition.

Her prolonged sleeps, which began in 2008 as she recovered from flu, were initially thought to be hormonal until she was diagnosed with Kleine-Levin Syndrome last year.

People who develop the condition, also known as Sleeping Beauty Disease, are prone to falling into extended periods of deep sleep that can stretch to weeks.

Miss Ball's mother Lottie, 45, told a national newspaper: "She was exhausted and didn’t seem to be getting any better. She started to fall asleep at school and was rambling about things that didn’t make sense – just like she was talking in her sleep.

"It really scared us, we didn’t know what to do. It just didn’t seem like Louisa was the daughter we used to know – she was like a different person."

Doctors at Worthing General Hospital were baffled by her symptoms, and suggested the problem could be to do with hormones.

Miss Ball's sleeping episodes began to stretch to ten days at a time, during which time her parents would wake her once a day to feed her and take her to the bathroom, before she succumbed to sleep again.

They said that when woken up she would ramble as though she were sleep talking, and when she fully awoke after several days she would not remember anything that had happened.

Her unusual syndrome was later diagnosed after she was referred to St George's Hospital in Tooting in March 2009.

Kleine-Levin Syndrome, a type of periodic hypersomnia from which sufferers make a full recovery between periods of sleep, is more common in males and usually vanishes in adulthood.

It has no known cause but is believed to be linked to a malfunction in the section of the brain that controls sleep and appetite.

Her father Richard, 44, a surveyor, said: "‘We had no idea that there was such a thing, but it was a relief once Louisa was diagnosed.

"We know when Louisa is starting to go into sleep mode as she becomes irritable, so we do have some warning.

"We went on a week’s caravanning holiday last year and she slept for the entire holiday – she missed the whole thing."

Kleine-Levin Syndrome has no universally accepted treatment, but some patients are given stimulant drugs to try to regulate their periods of sleep.

Miss Ball was given medication but it did not keep her awake, and her condition progressed to the point where she could remain asleep for periods of up to 12 days.

Miss Ball, who used to enjoy going to school and dancing classes, has missed exams and dance contests because of her condition and has fallen behind in her coursework.

But her parents hope a new medication aimed at shortening her sleep pattern will keep her awake long enough to take her GCSE exams.

She hopes to complete a BTEC in sport and dance after leaving school, but will first need to pass at least five GCSEs.

Mr Ball was quoted as saying: "It does look promising. She hasn’t fallen asleep properly for about seven weeks now so we are hoping it will reduce the severity of the attacks and allow her to get on with her life."