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I Thought I Was Lazy. Turns Out I Had a Sleep Disorder | Lindsay Scola | TED

For more than two decades, sleep health educator Lindsay Scola attributed her never-ending exhaustion to long hours and demanding jobs. When she was diagnosed with narcolepsy, she finally got the wake-up call that transformed her life. In this rousing talk, she discusses the epidemic of undiagnosed sleep disorders and encourages you to ask yourself: Is…

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For more than two decades, sleep health educator Lindsay Scola attributed her never-ending exhaustion to long hours and demanding jobs. When she was diagnosed with narcolepsy, she finally got the wake-up call that transformed her life. In this rousing talk, she discusses the epidemic of undiagnosed sleep disorders and encourages you to ask yourself: Is your tiredness different? (Recorded at TEDxSonomaCounty on March 7, 2026)

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15 Comments

  1. @LegendaryFootball.32

    October 18, 2026 at 11:04 am

    What an amazing speech

  2. @CVi-hj6dj

    October 18, 2026 at 11:08 am

    Eu gostaria muito de um técnico assim no Brasil informando sobre isso, infelizmente somos muito desinformados.

  3. @WillisLamaar

    October 18, 2026 at 11:11 am

    Good joke lol “It affects middle age men with squared jaws” lol 😂 that’s me

  4. @jackwt7340

    October 18, 2026 at 11:30 am

    Try taking 120mg tetrahydropalmatine every night to increase your sleep threshold

  5. @TardigradeTough

    October 18, 2026 at 11:53 am

    I wonder how much she paid the doctor for her excuse for her laziness? 🤔

  6. @StoriesWithEvelynHart

    October 18, 2026 at 11:59 am

    Lindsay’s story really stayed with me — especially when she asked ‘is your tiredness different?’ After twenty years of blaming long hours, learning her exhaustion was actually narcolepsy gave me chills. And that line about middle-aged men with squared jaws had me laughing out loud. Thank you for saying what so many exhausted people need to hear.

  7. @alvatrous

    October 18, 2026 at 12:16 pm

    I have delayed sleep phase disorder which is really hard to manage as well but totally different then what she has but what we do have in common is how dismissive doctors are.

  8. @Ahmadsalah2004

    October 18, 2026 at 12:25 pm

    I love the idea of the video because it happens with a lot of people around the world and most of people have sleep issues especially in modern life, and those who live with high stress and some particular jobs nowadays 😁 thank you for the video, best regards.

  9. @FawzZadran

    October 18, 2026 at 12:33 pm

    I totally agree with her on this point because it’s happening all over the world. None of us get enough sleep therefore, we feel exhausted and dizzy.

  10. @Tech-ai-33

    October 18, 2026 at 1:03 pm

    Totally True

  11. @ChuckBaggett

    October 18, 2026 at 1:43 pm

    I’ve seen a sleep specialist. Didn’t help a bit.

  12. @SniperReady

    October 18, 2026 at 1:58 pm

    A huge amount of our culture is built around this idea that we are all genetically equal. It doesn’t consider that the reason someone isn’t performing at the same level may because of compounding factors like sleep disorder or generational poverty.

  13. @harshbutt

    October 18, 2026 at 2:20 pm

    No, you were lazy, then someone came up with an excuse for you.

  14. @ericamiracle1988

    October 18, 2026 at 4:12 pm

    My husband started passing out 10-15 times a day. Doctors had no clue what it could be, only that it was really serious. Until we talked to a neurologist and I mentioned he had breathing stops at night for at least 3 years. Turns out, his oxygenlevels dropped to 58% at night. The pulmonologist told him most people die from that, and he had managed to function for almost 30 years. He suspected my husband had had sleep apnea from a very young age. Now he has a c-pap and usually doesn’t randomly fall asleep anymore. He also got diagnosed with asthma, and mold- and dustmite allergies.
    So I fully agree: Take your sleep seriously!

  15. @valehua2988

    October 18, 2026 at 6:34 pm

    Really interesting topic, thank you

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