The Unexpected Laughter Trap: A Rare Condition That Makes You Sleep

Meet Bella Kilmartin, a 24-year-old from the UK diagnosed with a rare medical condition that causes her to fall asleep whenever she laughs suddenly.

Doctors recognize this phenomenon and have named it narcolepsy. It's a branch of epilepsy where unexpected laughter can lead to involuntary sleep.

"It can be really scary," Bella explains, adding that she can't control when or how many times it happens. Once, she almost drowned in a swimming pool after a sudden laugh attack put her to sleep in the water.

As if that weren't enough, Kilmartin has also been diagnosed with a condition called cataplexy, in which emotions impact her physical responses. "This happens after an unexpectedly funny moment," she says. "My muscles become loose, my knees weaken, and my head tips back. Then my eyes close on their own."

The strangest part of her condition? Even while asleep - Bella is completely aware of her surroundings. "I can hear everything around me as if I'm fully conscious," she explains.

One memorable occasion was when she accidentally poured a cup of hot tea over herself without being able to do anything about it "because my arms wouldn't respond, and I couldn't move them," she recalls. Her arms went slack despite her brain telling them to act.

Kilmartin doesn't drive or stay alone in potentially dangerous places like pools or the sea.