Three-Year-Old Girl’s Bizarre Condition Never Lets Her Sleep In Her Entire Life

Sleep is an essential type of rest that children need. A lot of body and brain development require complete rest, which is possible only through a good night’s sleep. However, a three-year-old girl can’t seem to fall asleep and her parents are seriously concerned.

Jessica seems normal by the day. She plays, socializes, laughs and eats just like any other kid. But when darkness breaks in, the little girl’s “different” side takes over.

Meet Jessica, the girl who can’t sleep.

The three-year-old tends to stay up all night like she never gets tired from a whole day of energy-draining activities.

What concerns her parents the most is that she exhibits bizarre and intense behavior as she refuses to sleep. Her mother Tanya explains her daughter’s condition saying:

“In the day time, she’s aware that everyone else is there and if you spoke to her she would answer you. Whereas at night, it’s like you don’t exist.”

Afraid for her daughter’s wellness, Tanya allows Jessica to go to bed with them, hoping she would finally sleep quietly, but to no avail. This has been going on for two and a half years yet doctors were still clueless s to what’s keeping Jessica from sleeping at night. The kid was even misdiagnosed with epilepsy due to her frequently erratic movement.

Doctors have been prescribing a variety of medication that they hope would make Jessica’s situation better. They also introduced exercises into her night time routine in the hopes of improving her body clock. All of these solutions proved unsuccessful.

The family consulted UK’s leading child sleep clinics at Evelina Children’s Hospital. Jessica’s condition, called Eidetic Imagery, means she has a 3D memory from which she can create a virtual, 3D world in her head. Her condition is said to be one of the “countless branches that exists within the convoluted realm of child brain development.” Her Eidetic Imagery basically allows her to replay all her daytime activities and images during the night.

After a couple of tests, experts finally found her true condition called Eidetic Imagery.

This makes her mimic her actions of eating, playing or having fun during the night. Although Jessica does not respond to her parents’ attempt to communicate with her during her “dream,” experts reveal that the girl is actually completely aware of what she’s doing. This fact relieved Tanya’s fears that her daughter might harm herself during her “dream” like most sleepwakers do.

It’s like Jessica “dreams” of playing with her friends and resuming her daytime activities far into the night.

But Dr. Paul Gringras of Evelina Children’s Hospital said the kid’s insomnia could have indeed led to harmful brain development should she be checked a little later. Jessica’s diagnosis led her parents to schedule her for meetings with child psychologists and further testing. This has led to a new and more effective nighttime routine. Dr. Gingras explains to Tanya:

“Jessica knows that once she wakes up, she’s got this play scenario she can generate and she can do that in your bed.”

Although remedies were already found for Eidetic Imagery, Jessica still allows herself into her “dreams.” But to ensure her cognitive development goes on normally, Jessica should make a transition back to her own bed.

Take a look at what Jessica’s nights are made of.