World Sleep Day

It's World Sleep Day and the Charity are proud to support the Sleep and Narcolepsy team at Sheffield Children’s in their incredible work.

The Sleep service at Sheffield Children’s is one of the top services in the country and Charity funding helps the team to go above and beyond for their patients. They treat patients who have problems with their sleep, including the condition Narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a life-long brain condition that causes a person to struggle to stay awake so that they fall asleep at inappropriate times. Other symptoms of narcolepsy include temporary loss of muscle control and disturbed sleeping at night. These symptoms can lead to children and young people feeling exhausted all the time and unable to keep up with other children.

Last Saturday they held their annual Narcolepsy Family Day, where children and young people living with Narcolepsy and their families come together to share their experiences.

This day is made possible by Charity funding.

Families had travelled from as far as Warwick, Lincoln and Morecombe Bay to join the Narcolepsy team. The day included a talk from a former patient, games and crafts, and information about research and medication changes.

By attending year on year families can bond and realise that they are not the only ones experiencing the disorder.

On the day donations from Jude and the Book Factory were hidden around the venue for the children and young people to find and then keep.

Parents of Jude Mellon-Jameson, who died from cancer in September 2023, donated over 500 books to Sheffield Children’s Hospital to celebrate World Book Day and continue Jude’s legacy of Jude and the Book Factory. Some of these books were then gifted to the sleep team and were much appreciated by patients and families during the away day. 

The Charity also supported the team to go international in 2023. 

Last year Professor Heather Elphick and Nurse Specialist Janine Reynolds were invited to the World Sleep Conference in Rio De Janeiro.

Professor Heather gave a talk about the work their team has been doing with patients living with Narcolepsy here in the UK.

The Charity were proud to support Janine’s trip to Rio by funding her flights.

The conference offered the chance for the team to offer their expertise and learn new things from leading clinicians and researchers from across the world. 

We’re so proud of the Sleep Service at Sheffield Children’s and your support makes it possible for us to go above and beyond the NHS provision for them.   

To donate to support work like this click here.