Posted by Meta Nexus on September 19, 2009 at 18:16:31:Well I'm probably, as indicated, one of the few people on the planet with this disorder. I've forgotten what it is called, but that's understandable as it's been about 18 years since I heard the name of it, plus I have some memory issues anyway. It may sound somewhat odd, but that's because, to my knowledge, it's one of the rarest disorders out there, what with there being NO information on it at all, online or in any textbook I've read.
It's actually a legitimate sleeping disorder, recognized by no fewer than one doctor; that is to say that the doctor who diagnosed me with the disorder after conducting a sleep study on me recognizes it, at least.
Sadly, after ~18 years, I've forgotten what it is called, but the major "problem" is that the patient spends an abnormal or excessive amount of time in stage IV sleep. This makes them very difficult to wake as it is in stage III and stage IV sleep where people sleep most soundly. This also has the mixed-beneficial effect of the person needing overall less sleep when compared to a normal, healthy sleep cycle.
The following is all I can say about the disorder in relation to how it has affected me.
I only need about 5-6 hours of sleep, though I can sleep for a full 8-hour cycle and still function well, or I can alternately function somewhat on a mere 4 hours of sleep; it just feels like I've overslept/under-slept respectively when I do (drowsiness, grogginess) but I recover from that with remarkable ease, usually within 15-30 minutes, without coffee or what-have-you. Otherwise I'm typically "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" immediately upon waking.
It's extremely difficult to wake me, which is a mixed blessing (I can get all the sleep I need without waking in the night, but if something bad happens, such as a fire, then I'll be out of luck). Relatives have tried poking me, prodding me, playing extremely loud music in the room, yelling at me, shaking me and/or the bed, and even pushing/pulling me out of bed, and none of that has woken me. I don't think they've tried ice water yet, but I would be surprised if it worked. A hand grenade might do the trick, but I'm not that much of a risk-taker.
I'm not sure if it's related to the disorder, or if it's something else, but most of my early memories, and even up to just a few years ago, are severely fragmented, though my short-term memory works fine. I can still remember things, but it takes me longer, or sometimes I'll spontaneously remember something, seemingly without an internal/external stimulus to do so. One would expect that increased stage IV sleep would have a more positive effect on memory consolidation, but contrary to what some may conceive to be truth, sleep is still largely not understood.
That's most of what I can say about how it has affected me, and, like anything else in the world, how it affects different people will be...well, different.
For the record, I was diagnosed at around age three or four, and am now 21 years old, a successful college student, and perfectly sane. In short, I'm no worse for the wear. I haven't had troubles with migraines (in fact I have yet to have a single headache) or drowsiness/Hypersomnia, though I once had a one-week bout of Insomnia when I was around seven, but I believe that to be unrelated.
Best of luck, health, and good wishes.
-The World's Soundest Sleeper
- Re: Rarest Disorder Ever? Sandman 20:47 9/19/09 (2)
- Re: Rarest Disorder Ever? Meta Nexus 00:02 9/30/09 (1)
- Re: Rarest Disorder Ever? mlecow555 18:26 10/01/09 (0)