Is there a disease that kills by preventing sleep?

Josh, Chuck, and Jerry dive into the terrifying world of fatal familial insomnia, an extremely rare genetic disorder that literally kills you by preventing sleep forever. They explore how this disease is caused by misfolded proteins called prions that create tiny holes in your brain, and discuss the devastating four-stage progression that leads to inevitable death within 1-3 years. The hosts also cover other related prion diseases like mad cow disease and examine the medical mystery of how these infectious proteins work, despite seeming impossible according to traditional biology.