Normally, people will sleep for 7-9 hours a day. However, people with FFI have difficulty falling asleep in the long term periode. In the beginning, people with FFI experience mild insomnia but it gets worse and worse, causing physical and mental decline that can lead to death.
Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) is a relatively rare disease of prions, a type of protein that can cause other proteins in the brain to become abnormal. It is genetically inherited and primarily affects the thalamus, the part of the brain that controls the sleep cycle. FFI has no cure and involves worsening insomnia, leading to hallucinations, delirium and dementia-like confusion.
In Another Life is a fanfiction written by LittleLuxray on the Archieve of Our Own website. The characters in this story are Bokuto Koutaro and Akaashi Keiji who are taken from the anime character titled Haikyuu by Haruichi Furudate. It tells the story of Akaashi, who actually hates hospitals but has to go to the place for an internship because of his parents' insistence and meets Bokuto who Akaashi thought was an intern but later Akaashi found out was a patient with a rare disease called FFI.
This story illustrates some of the symptoms of FFI that will be discussed further in this post along with a quotation from the story.
"All I can say is that sleeping doesn't come as easily as it used to."
This quote describes the initial symptom of the disease, which is how a person has difficulty falling asleep normally. Basically, FFI is an acute form of insomnia.
He took several steps back to prepare himself for the toss. Mentally, he was more than ready to spike, but not so much physically.
The quote describes how a person with FFI will physically weaken over time due to not sleeping for several weeks. Lack of rest and sleep can lead to metabolic disorders such as changes in hormone activity and impaired blood glucose metabolism, causing a decline in physical condition.
Bokuto stared off in the distance from beyond the net, his face carrying a confused expression. After a moment, quietly, he spoke.
"They... Aren't really there, are they?" The words left his mouth reluctantly.
Akaashi glanced in the direction of where Bokuto was staring. No one. They were the only two in the gym.
