Sarah Elizabeth was filming a Japanese dance sequence for her YouTube channel when she accidentally filmed the reality of her severe narcolepsy disorder: sudden sleep attacks, cataplexy (muscle weakness), and what she refers to as “memory bobble.” She decided to upload the video in an attempt to educate people of the opinion that randomly (and frequently) falling asleep is funny; it’s not. As she caught on camera, sudden sleepiness can force her to drop to the ground, get dizzy, and spend minutes trying to discourage cataplexy.

Narcolepsy may only affect less than a percent of the population, as reported by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, but it’s a neurological disorder that causes a disabling level of daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. When left untreated, narcolepsy can lead to disease, like depression and type 2 diabetes. “I know that some people tend to use humor as a way to break the ice and let other people know about narcolepsy, but I think just, first and foremost, [be] open and direct and really [explain] what narcolepsy is, how it’s affected your life, and what [people] can do if they ever see you have any sleep attacks or any episodes of cataplexy,” Lisa Rezza, a patient and family education at Boston Children’s Hospital, told Harvard Medical School in a similar video about narcolepsy.

The responses Sarah has received on YouTube — as well as Reddit where the video went viral — have not only commended Sarah for her brave and honest insight into a stigmatized disorder, but it’s been genuinely curious. So curious, that Sarah took to Reddit in order to answer the flood of questions she received about the terms she used in her video, as well as what it's like to live with narcolepsy. You can watch her narcoleptic episode below, and read her answers regarding her condition here.