Artist with narcolepsy offers tips on creativity, not fighting the disease

I live with my two cats and my partner, and my favorite mediums right now are crochet and knitting.

I got diagnosed with narcolepsy and POTS in 2025, of last year, and my path to diagnosis was very long and traumatizing, and I’m grateful to have answers for my symptoms now.

Before diagnosis, it is clear that there was narcolepsy at play, and my art, like, started to worry my parents because they could see, like, something was wrong in my art.

I made a drawing in high school that was me sleeping on the ground, holding myself down like it was two versions of me. And so it felt like I was holding myself back. And I look back on that piece, and I’m like, it’s right there. Like I had narcolepsy, so it’s wild to see that.

So the kind of art I like to make is all over the place. I would say most of my art is cute and fun and colorful. I try and keep myself engaged because it’s not necessarily that I get bored easily, but I will drift in and out of sleep easily, so the bright colors and stuff kind of helped me stay engaged and awake.

So how does narcolepsy interrupt my creative process?

I would say that I make a lot of mistakes. I would say my brain is reliably unreliable, but I had a really good art teacher when I was younger help me with that. I made like a big mistake with a green pastel, and I thought my art was ruined, and she helped me turn it into, like, some grass, and that, like, altered my brain chemistry. I was like, oh, not every mistake is something that you need to throw out the whole project for. You can work with that or use it as, like, a challenge to make something new.

So I would say that I slide in and out of sleep easily. How I would describe it is that it’s more of like a dimmer switch than a light switch. So sometimes I’ll look at a project the next day, and I’ll be like, who did that? And I’ll have to go back and figure out how to get back on track.

So as far as narcolepsy providing me a unique perspective, I would say I often am, like, fading in and out. And so it kind of blurs the images that I’m making, and that actually ends up creating some pretty cool compositions.

I wonder if narcolepsy gives me more of a visualization brain because I’m, I have access to that, like, dream state more easily than other people.

How I manage the possibility of falling asleep while creating is I work with more forgiving mediums rather than permanent ones. So, for example, acrylic paint, you can kind of add layers on top and recorrect easily, but watercolor might be more difficult because you can only do so many layers with that.

If I did want to do that effect, I would use digital art, because that is also a great way to either plan a more complicated project or try effects in a more forgiving way.

I would also say that I work in short segments rather than long, like, marathon art sessions, because my sleepiness kind of interferes, and if I try and push through, it’s just going to be bad overall.

So everywhere I work is also very nap-friendly with pillows, blankets, so I can quickly take a break without thinking too hard about it.

So as far as advice for people with narcolepsy that want to do creative projects, one thing I would say is Have different levels of projects.

So I have really easy projects I could pick up on the couch no matter what kind of day I’m having or how bad my symptoms are. And then I also have more challenging projects for the days that I’m feeling good. But that way I can make art no matter how I’m feeling.

I also would say that your pace is going to look a lot different than other people’s, and if you take care of your health, your art will thank you.