Aishwarya Iyer
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Written By: Aishwarya Iyer | Updated : April 18, 2018 3:22 PM IST
Sharan Desai, a 15-year-old boy from Mumbai, woke up to an unusual ritual every morning. No, we are not talking about the problems that most millennials face -- reaching for their smartphones, browsing through the social media pages with eyes still drowsy with sleep. He would rather do something that amused his parents and close family members alike. This teen would cling on to his pillow, grind his teeth, talk or scream irrelevantly - all of which lasted for at least the first 15-20 minutes after waking up. Once this morning episode subsided he was back to being his normal jovial self. This is what made his parents worried as when they questioned him about the unusual morning behaviour he had no memory of the same.
But this has been a regular thing in his life, ever since toddlerhood. Sharan's mornings were never normal. Unlike other kid, he took time to settle into the daily grind of life. But at that time his behaviour was brushed off by his parents as one of those toddler tantrums kids have at that age. But 15 wasn't an age to accept these antics anymore. Finally, they decided to check with a doctor.
A reality check
Of course, it wasn't a continued episode of toddler tantrums. What seemed like the behaviour of an unruly teen turned out to be a sleep disorder. A detailed history of his behaviour and analysis of the same done by a renowned psychiatrist revealed the other side of his story.
'Sharan had a very rare sleep disorder called 'excessive sleep inertia.' It is also known as 'confusional arousal' or 'sleep drunkenness'. Globally, only about 3 percent of adults suffer from this,' said Dr Sagar Karia, a psychiatrist from LTMG Sion Hospital. For the past six months, Sharan has been receiving treatment from Dr Karia. Here are 12 amazing facts about sleep that you should know about.
What is sleep inertia or confusional arousals?
According to the Americal Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), confusional arousals also known as sleep drunkenness or severe sleep inertia are episodes wherein a person after waking up from sleep remains confused about the time and place and may engage in hostile or violent behaviours. Most often they have no knowledge of their actions once the episode subsides.
The condition is caused typically when one wakes from the NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. This causes them to act in a strange or confused manner upon waking. Simply put, this occurs when a person is bodily awake yet behaves as though he's still asleep. This is because the brain-body connection is not yet established right after waking up.
According to AASM, both men and women suffer from this condition alike. But it is more common among children and adults under the age of 35.
The plausible causes of sleep inertia
As the science behind this condition goes it is a physiological state of impaired cognitive and sensory-motor performance (impaired communication between the brain and the body) the reasons of which are still not understood completely by experts. However, sleep disruptions caused by any illness, jet-lag, abrupt sleep loss, irregular sleep-wake cycle or migraines are thought to be triggers of an episode. Here are 10 signs that you are not getting enough sleep.
Some other features of confusional arousal are:
Is it a cause for worry?
'The condition is more common among kids. But majority of them outgrow this. But if your kid does exhibit similar behaviour even after six years of age, it is advisable to get it checked by a doctor. Usually having a fixed sleep routine helps people to overcome this condition. In case of Sharan, his medications are on and he is getting better," added Dr Karia.
However, it isn't a condition that can degrade the quality of life of a person. Nevertheless, it is always better to get checked as one can also become violent during an episode of sleep inertia. Often the family members of the patient should be vigilant enough to pick up the signs and consult the doctor on time.
Image Source: Shutterstock
Reference: HILDITCH, C. J., DORRIAN, J., & BANKS, S. (2016). Time to wake up: reactive countermeasures to sleep inertia. Industrial Health, 54(6), 528 541. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2015-0236
