(CNN) -- Candy Wilmot and her 9-year-old daughter, Adeline, were at the movies to watch "Snow White," the live-action version of the 1937 Disney classic, when the movie suddenly became a personal experience for Wilmot, who suffers from narcolepsy.
This disorder causes extreme daytime sleepiness, hallucinations, sleep paralysis, and sudden bouts of muscle weakness or loss of muscle control, known as cataplexy. “It was supposed to be a fun experience for a mother and daughter, but it wasn't.”
She added: “The dwarf character “Sleepy” was presented as suffering from “narcolepsy and cataplexy,” which is something I had never heard of before. He would start snoring while talking, or even fall asleep during fight scenes, or suddenly freeze and fall in a comedy scene that was supposed to be funny.”
She commented, "No one with narcolepsy experiences this. It wasn't funny, and it certainly wasn't realistic. I was offended by the portrayal of the character, and I realized that my daughter might see this behavior and wonder about my health condition."
A new analysis conducted exclusively for CNN finds that movies and TV shows frequently use narcolepsy as a source of humor, turning an incurable neurological disorder that affects one in 2,000 Americans and millions of people around the world into the fodder for slapstick comedy.
Wilmot's worst moment was when Sleepy staggered to the edge of a deep chasm inside the mine, then began to fall backwards, before another dwarf caught him at the last moment.
"After the movie, my daughter asked me: 'Mom, if you stop taking your medication, will you become like him?'" Wilmot continued, adding that "she was afraid that other children would think that people with narcolepsy might put themselves or others in danger."
"No one wants to be ridiculed"
An analysis of 56 Hollywood productions made between 1983 and 2025 that dealt with narcolepsy found that 80% used the disease as a recurring subject of satire, although less than half of these productions were comedies. 68% of the 41 personalities with narcolepsy were portrayed as helpless or unreliable.
An example of this is the series "Scrubs", which comically presented a patient's sleep attacks and linked them to sexual arousal.
“No one wants to be ridiculed,” said sleep psychologist Dr. Shelby Harris. She added that watching these works may make people with narcolepsy feel ashamed and belittled.
Stereotypes may hinder seeking treatment
Experts warn that these stereotypes may even affect the decision of those suffering from this condition to seek treatment.
Former American football player Josh Andrews, who was diagnosed with narcolepsy at the age of 26, said that he thought the disease meant sudden sleep as depicted in movies, so he did not recognize its symptoms at first.
In the 1999 film "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo," a character with narcolepsy's sudden sleep attacks are used as part of a comedic scene.
Julie Flygar, co-author of the report and CEO of the Project Sleep Foundation, noted that about 82% of the characters with narcolepsy in the works included in the analysis appeared to have exaggerated sleep attacks.
She explained that the common depiction of these attacks, when a person suddenly falls backwards and the sound of him hitting the ground and then snoring is heard, does not reflect reality. “We do not fall like a piece of wood on the ground, nor do we suddenly stop talking and start snoring, nor do we fall over our food. The fatigue resulting from narcolepsy is usually less noticeable, and occurs gradually over several minutes, allowing the person to sit or lie down. As for cataplexy, our knees may collapse or we fall to the ground, but we remain fully awake.” "And our awareness."
A blow to self-confidence
People with narcolepsy may face difficulties at work, sometimes due to fatigue, and also due to the stigma associated with the disease in the workplace.
People with narcolepsy may be described by managers, colleagues, teachers and even those close to them as neglectful, incompetent, antisocial or inferior to others, said Erika Rosenthal, director of research at the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California and co-author of the report.
In the first episode of the Netflix series “The Recruit” in 2022, a lawyer working for the CIA falls asleep during a meeting, and his boss throws a pen at his head and tells him: “Stop it. No one believes the narcolepsy argument, and I don’t care what your doctor’s report says.”
The series was canceled after its second season aired.
Making fun of people's differences or health conditions may have been common in the early entertainment industry, but Hollywood has become more focused on inclusive, socially conscious, and accurate takes on medical conditions.
The movie “CODA” won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2021, and most of the cast were deaf, and Troy Kotsur became the first deaf actor to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. “Love on the Spectrum” also won ten Emmy Awards for its realistic portrayal of the dating lives of young people with autism.
HBO Max's medical series "The Pitt" won the 2025 Norman Lear Award for its accurate depiction of emergency medicine.
But even the best intentions can backfire. In the final episode of the second season of “The Pitt” in 2026, narcolepsy was used as a comedic element.
In one scene, people waiting in the emergency room are told that a man died after waiting all day for care and that he had what was called “acute narcolepsy.” A man sitting next to him responded sarcastically: “But he looks really dead.”
"The Simpsons" proves it's possible
The report monitored some positive examples of depictions of narcolepsy in Hollywood, but they remain rare. Such as "The Mysterious Benedict Society," which provided a largely accurate portrayal of identical twin brothers with narcolepsy type 1.
The 2023 film “Wake” also dealt with the hallucinations that can accompany narcolepsy, while the 1983 series “Hill Street Blues” provided a relatively realistic depiction of cataplexy.
However, the report considered “The Simpsons” series the most prominent example of the possibility of presenting an accurate picture of narcolepsy, despite its comedic nature.
When Al Jean, the executive producer of the series, learned that narcolepsy would be the focus of the first episode of the 27th season in 2015, he contacted Flygar, who asked him to verify the accuracy of the filming.
"It was important for us to get narcolepsy right," Jan told CNN. "It's easy to miss some details when we produce 20 to 24 episodes a year."
"Al is very humble about his role in this," Flygar said. "I can't tell you how many acts I've reached out to offer to help us film narcolepsy, but he's one of the few people who has responded to us and actually benefited from our suggestions."
Despite the accuracy of the photography, the scene was not devoid of humor. Bart tries to "unplug" from his father, while the doctor threatens Homer when he suggests not paying the hospital bill.
Experts believe that this approach may represent a model for the change needed in the entertainment industry, which Wilmot supports.
“When health conditions are portrayed inaccurately, we who live with them are forced to deal with the resulting misconceptions,” she said. “I want the public to understand that narcolepsy does not mean that a person is lazy or unable to stay awake, but rather it is a neurological disorder that affects different aspects of our lives on a daily basis.”
