Lethargic sleep is a pathology characterized by an almost complete absence of signs of life. The human condition in such a situation borders on death. From the outside it is not at all clear whether the person is alive. Is there a high probability of lethargic sleep occurring? Let's consider the reasons for the appearance of this condition and consider examples from the real lives of people.
The article is for informational purposes only. If you have health problems, you should consult your doctor in person. Self-medication is unacceptable!
Lethargic sleep: what is it?
In a state of lethargy, a person does not react to light, noise, touch, or even pain. The pulse cannot be felt, although the heart is beating. True, with a very rare frequency - 2-3 beats per minute! Without a cardiograph, it is almost impossible to determine the number of heartbeats.
The patient's pupils do not shrink in bright light, the body temperature is lower than usual, and breathing is barely noticeable. In this situation, even experienced doctors mistakenly declare death. Diagnostic equipment shows minimal signs of life when connected to a person with lethargy.
A person does not wake up to eat, drink, or relieve himself. Physiological processes in the body are greatly inhibited.
Causes
The main cause of lethargic sleep is severe stress . For example, due to the death of a loved one, a traumatic situation, etc.
Frequent tantrums can also lead to lethargy. However, they are not the only factor in the development of pathology. This is usually a consequence of hysteria along with mental illness and brain damage.
Lethargic sleep often occurs with schizophrenia, bulimia (eating disorder), physical exhaustion, etc.
Infections contribute to the development of pathology. In particular, bacteria (diplococci) that cause sore throat can provoke lethargy. If the body cannot cope with pathogens, they penetrate the brain and affect those areas that are responsible for the onset of sleep.
Pharmacological agents that depress the nervous system and chemotherapy drugs increase the risk of lethargy. The likelihood of its development increases with uncontrolled use and overdose of such drugs.
Severe poisoning leading to brain damage is a prerequisite for the development of pathological sleep. The latter also results from exhaustion of the body due to illness or blood loss.
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An extremely rare cause of the pathology is lethargic encephalitis. It is also known as Economo's disease or sleeping sickness. Scientists believe that the lethargy in this case is caused by an unknown virus that affects the midbrain. Because of this, the physiological processes responsible for maintaining wakefulness are disrupted. As a result, damage to this area of the brain causes a lethargic state. By the way, over the past 20 years, not a single case of lethargy caused by Economo's disease has been identified.
People who are easily suggestible may fall into a long sleep after a hypnosis session. However, a competent hypnotherapist will not allow this to happen.
There is a version that lethargy is inherited. Scientists have suggested the presence of a gene that provokes the development of the disease. If close relatives fell into a lethargic sleep, the likelihood of pathology becoming higher.
Signs of lethargy
Outwardly, a person who has fallen into a lethargic sleep looks like someone who has died. The skin is pale, cold, the pupils do not constrict in bright light. There is almost no pulse, breathing is rare, and the sleeper does not respond to pain.
The patient, being in lethargy, does not eat, drink or relieve himself. Because of this, body weight is lost and the body becomes dehydrated.
“Mild” cases of lethargic sleep are similar to deep sleep. Breathing is normal, pulse is palpable. Diagnostic equipment shows changes in sleep phases, which is natural for a healthy person. In the fast phase, as in normal conditions, the eyeballs under the closed eyelids move in a lethargic sleep.
from other types of parasomnia in its duration and continuity. For example, with sleeping beauty syndrome, a person wakes up every 18-20 hours of sleep. Lethargic sleep can continue for months without interruption for awakening.
In a state of lethargy, a person is able to remember what is happening nearby. However, the patient is unable to respond to this. A person is actually locked in his body and cannot get out of it.
Lethargic sleep can occur several times throughout life. Moreover, the risk of pathology is higher in those people who have been in this state. If you compare a person with neuropsychiatric diseases and a healthy person who has already slept lethargically, the latter is much more likely to have a disorder.
Before the onset of lethargic sleep, patients felt increasing fatigue and dizziness. Then, literally on the move, consciousness turned off, and they fell into deep sleep. Signs of impending lethargy may include increased body temperature, profuse sweating, headaches, weakness in the legs, and irresistible drowsiness.
The most important
Until now, many scientists do not believe in the existence of lethargy and consider this condition to be a consequence of severe fatigue and moral exhaustion of the body, various kinds of troubles and stress. They are confident that good rest and quality sleep can cure a person of illness.
Whether it will be possible to unravel the mystery of this condition - time will tell. Perhaps very soon scientists will answer the question of many about what lies in the state of lethargic sleep and will find an effective treatment for the mysterious disease.
Consequences of lethargic sleep
Awakening from lethargic sleep, as well as immersion in it, occurs spontaneously. Even the medical equipment to which the patient is connected does not help determine the time of recovery from this state.
Long sleep and prolonged stay in one position have a negative impact on health. The patient has bedsores, thinness, and a bluish tint to the skin. In addition, problems with the kidneys and lungs appear, and the functioning of blood vessels is disrupted.
Some people who slept for 10-20 years did not age during their sleep. Physiological processes slow down during lethargy. Accordingly, the aging mechanisms also stop.
The brain does not develop in a state of prolonged sleep. In other words, a person who fell asleep at the age of 20 and woke up at the age of 40 will think like a young man. If this happened to a child, then after a long lethargy, an adult-looking person will speak and think like a child.
By the way, such an incident occurred with one 6-year-old girl from South America. Having slept for about 17 years, an adult 23-year-old girl, at first after lethargy, was interested in dolls and other children's games.
Sleeping Beauties
Paradoxically, in the case of long-term lethargy, a person practically does not change. He doesn't even age. In the cases described above, both women, Nadezhda Lebedina and Augustine Leggard, corresponded to their previous ages during sleep. But as soon as their lives acquired a normal rhythm, the years took their toll. Thus, Augustine aged sharply during the first year after awakening, and Nadezhda’s body caught up with its “fifty dollars” in less than six months. The doctors recall: “What we were able to observe was unforgettable! She grew old before our eyes. Every day I added new wrinkles and gray hair.” What is the secret of the youth of those who sleep, and how the body so quickly regains the lost years, scientists have yet to find out.
Diagnostics
From the outside, lethargic sleep is difficult to distinguish from death. To differentiate lethargy, specialists perform an EEG (electroencephalogram) and an ECG (electrocardiography) . Additionally, they take blood for analysis, examine the patient for serious injuries, and check for capillary bleeding.
EEG and ECG help determine whether the brain and heart are working. If the equipment detects a rare pulse and even minimal brain activity, there is every chance to believe that the patient is in a lethargic sleep. Symptoms of cold, pale skin and lack of reaction to light in the pupils confirm the diagnosis.
During lethargy, the brain can work in the same way as when a healthy person is awake. Other organs, such as the stomach, kidneys or lungs, barely function. Because of this, after a long hibernation, patients experience kidney failure, digestive difficulties, impaired respiratory function, etc.
To avoid health problems in people who have fallen into a lethargic sleep, their condition is maintained by life support devices. The same equipment is used in resuscitation measures.
Treatment
It is impossible to get out of lethargy even with the help of modern medical equipment and pharmacological agents.
The patient's condition must be monitored periodically. In addition, it is necessary to regularly administer food to the person parenterally (intravenously) or through an esophageal tube.
In most cases, the patient is not admitted to a medical facility. As a rule, the sleeping person is at home, where relatives take care of him: periodically wash him, warm him and turn him to avoid bedsores.
Prevention
There is no single effective method for preventing and treating this mysterious disease. To avoid lethargic attacks, scientists, based on research and experience of previous generations, recommend adhering to the following rules.
In summer, in hot or humid weather, avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. Drink enough regular (preferably boiled) water daily for the body. Do not abuse sweets containing starch.
It is important to include dishes with a lot of plant fiber in your diet. Avoid frequent stress, sleep 6-8 hours a day. You should take strong medications with caution, and never drink alcohol at the same time.
How long does lethargic sleep last?
Lethargic sleep can last from 1 hour to 20 years . There have been cases where people fell into lethargy for more than a couple of decades. During this time, the patients did not eat, drink or relieve themselves.
The sleeper usually cannot get out of this state on his own without the influence of external factors. For example, there was a case when a patient, through a dream, heard news of his own funeral and instantly woke up. Suddenly, only a few emerge from their lethargic sleep.
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Features of the pathological condition
Symptoms of apparent death are:
- complete immobility throughout the entire illness;
- lack of reflexes and reactions to external stimuli;
- slowing down life processes.
Often, brain activity remains at the same level, consciousness is clear, the patient hears those around him, perceives their words and even remembers certain events, but a feeling of severe weakness prevents him from reacting. The condition is easily confused with diseases such as encephalitis and narcolepsy.
In a mild form of lethargic sleep, the body is relaxed, there is twitching of the eyelids and rolling of the eyes. At the same time, the ability to chew and swallow is preserved. Feeding the sleeping person can be done independently or with the help of a medical tube.
Severe cases are rare. The person outwardly resembles a dead person, the body does not visually show the slightest signs of life, there is no reaction to pain (including very severe). The sleeping person cannot feed himself, the discharge (urine, feces) stops, and the person “dries out” before our eyes.
Cases of lethargic sleep from real life
One incident occurred in 1954 with Nadezhda Lebedina. As a result of a quarrel with her husband, the 34-year-old patient fell asleep for 20 years and woke up in 1974. Nadezhda woke up after she heard the conversations of her loved ones through her sleep. The cause of lethargic sleep in this situation was hysteria due to a conflict with her husband.
By the way, this incident was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest lethargic sleep. Yes, there were people who remained in such hibernation longer (22 years or more). However, the case of Nadezhda Lebedina was officially registered. Representatives of the book of records did not accept other longer cases of lethargic sleep.
There is a well-known example of another person - Ivan Kachalkin, who slept from 1898 to 1918. After waking up, Ivan said that during 20 years of sleep he was aware of what was happening around him. However, he could not wake up, as he felt insurmountable weakness. Before the incident, Ivan was diagnosed with schizophrenia, which became the cause of lethargy.
The case of Ivan Kachalkin was studied by the famous academician Pavlov, a man who studied conditioned and unconditioned reflexes in animals. The phrase “Pavlov’s dog” is associated precisely with this scientist.
The famous Italian poet Francesco Petrarca fell asleep for only 20 hours and was almost buried alive. According to the laws of that time, a person had to be buried within 24 hours after death. In addition, then no one knew what lethargic sleep was. If a person is pale, cold and does not respond to physical influence, then he has gone to another world. The Italian woke up right at the moment of his burial ceremony, which shocked eyewitnesses of the funeral and convinced them of the existence of God. After this, Francesco no longer fell into a lethargic sleep. He actually died in 1374, the day before his birthday.
Another case of lethargy occurred in Norway in 1919. After a difficult birth, Augustine Lingard fell asleep for 22 years and woke up in 1941 - at the height of the Second World War. The woman lost a lot of blood during childbirth and was physically exhausted. Apparently, in order to get out of a life-threatening state, the body went into a state of lethargy.
Throughout her sleep, the woman did not age and at the moment of awakening she looked as young as when she fell asleep. However, over the next year after the lethargy, the patient began to age rapidly. As a result, after just over a year, she already looked like her peers.
Another case known to the Internet occurred with Praskovya Kalinicheva in 1947. After a series of unpleasant events - the death of her husband, arrest and exile, the woman fell into a lethargic state. She was there for only a week. The reason for the development of lethargy in this story is accumulated stress.
Buried alive
In 1772, the German Duke of Mecklenburg announced that in all his possessions it was forbidden to bury people earlier than three days after death. Soon a similar measure was adopted throughout Europe. The fact is that both the nobility and representatives of the mob were very afraid of being buried alive.
Later, in the 19th century, coffin makers even began to develop special “safe coffins” in which a person buried by mistake could survive for some time and send a signal asking for help. The simplest design of such a coffin was a wooden box with a tube leading out. For several days after the funeral, a priest visited the grave. His duty was to sniff the pipe sticking out of the ground - if there was no smell of decomposition, the grave was supposed to be opened and checked whether the one who was buried in it was really dead. Sometimes a bell was attached to the pipe, with which a person could let him know that he was alive.
More complex designs were equipped with devices for supplying food and water. At the beginning of the 19th century, the German doctor Adolf Gutsmon personally demonstrated his own invention. The extreme doctor was buried alive in a special coffin, where he was able to spend several hours and even dine on sausages and beer, which were served underground using a special device.
Modern cases of lethargic sleep
Italian Roberto De Simone emerged from his lethargy at his own funeral in 2003. The man was pronounced dead from a heart attack. However, in reality, heart problems led to lethargic sleep.
In 2011, a little-known Crimean rock band decided to rehearse a concert in a morgue. Unexpectedly, during the performance of the compositions, the artists heard a man’s scream coming from one of the refrigeration chambers. The victim was immediately released. Later it turned out that the supposedly deceased was sleeping in a lethargic sleep while he was in the morgue.
There is a version of another unexpected resurrection after a car accident. An unknown guy got into a serious accident. Doctors who arrived at the scene found no visible signs of life in the victim and certified death. The man was taken to the morgue, where he later woke up and walked out of the refrigeration chamber on his own.
The most famous lethargic attacks:
- F. Petrarch fell ill and suddenly fell into a lethargic sleep. It is quite natural that they considered him dead and began a funeral ceremony. However, after sleeping for about 20 hours, the poet woke up and felt great.
- The case of K. Kachalkin is so interesting and unusual that Academician Pavlov himself investigated it. The first lethargic attack lasted two years and was mild. Then the lethargy turned into a severe form, and for 20 years the man showed no obvious signs of life. As Kachalkin stated later, during sleep he heard everything that was happening around.
- An elderly Italian, Roberto, suddenly “died” in hospital from cardiac arrest. However, during the funeral ceremony and the coffin lid was already lowering over the deceased, he asked for water.
- American Z. Dunlap was hospitalized after a terrible accident and was declared dead because his brain showed no signs of blood flow. The young man’s relatives signed a consent to use his organs for seriously ill patients. But during the farewell ceremony, the “dead man” woke up. Subsequently, he said that he heard how the doctors declared him dead, but the body seemed to be someone else's.
You can talk endlessly about the signs of lethargy or the duration of the longest attack, but these are just examples from history. The most important thing is to understand what to do if at the most unexpected moment a person falls into a deep sleep and cannot be woken up.
What is the difference between coma and lethargic sleep?
To compare both conditions, we list the symptoms of each of them separately.
Signs of coma:
- The patient's condition is on the verge of death.
- The patient needs to be connected to life support devices. Otherwise he may die.
- Coma is preceded by traumatic brain injury and serious neurological diseases.
- A patient in a coma often cannot breathe on his own.
- Rehabilitation after a coma can take several months.
- In a coma, the patient may react to external factors.
- The person has a weak but stable pulse.
- In a comatose state, a person’s skin is warmer than during lethargic sleep.
Signs of lethargy:
- The cause is not associated with severe brain damage.
- Breathing is minimal but not impaired.
- The sleeper can do without equipment to support life.
- After lethargy, a person is rehabilitated faster than after a coma. Except in cases where internal organs have suffered from many years of sleep.
- The patient does not respond to external factors.
- The pulse cannot be felt.
As you can see, lethargic sleep is less dangerous than coma. In general, the difference between the conditions is in the causes of occurrence and the speed of rehabilitation after.
How to distinguish death from lethargic sleep
Without medical equipment, it is almost impossible to determine whether a person has died or is in a lethargic sleep. The main diagnostic method in this case is electroencephalography, a procedure that detects the presence of brain activity. If the latter is present along with symptoms such as pale skin and lack of pupil reaction to light, then the patient is in a state of lethargy.
The lethal outcome is confirmed by the following factors:
- 2 hours after death, cadaveric spots appear on the body.
- Rigor mortis occurs 4 hours after death. The person “freezes” in the position he was in before.
Complications
Prolonged immobility of a person has a detrimental effect on the body as a whole. The longer the patient remains in this condition, the higher the likelihood that he will return as a severely disabled person. The most common complications of restless sleep:
- necrosis of certain areas of soft tissue;
- atrophy of blood vessels;
- septic damage (rotting) of the kidneys and bronchi.
With imaginary death, the aging of the body slows down, but as soon as a person wakes up, the process begins to accelerate until it reaches the desired state. Why this happens is still not known.
Interesting Facts
Gogol's lethargic dream
There is a version that the author of “Viy” and “Dead Souls” Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was buried alive. It is alleged that the writer was prone to lethargic sleep. However, the fact of burial alive was not confirmed on the global network, including Wikipedia. Authoritative sources say this is just a myth.
The attitude of medicine to lethargy
Official medicine does not identify lethargic sleep as a separate disease. If pathology is present, specialists diagnose “malaise and fatigue.” This diagnosis refers to disorders that are not included in other categories of diseases. According to ICD-10 - International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, lethargic sleep has code R.53.
Lethargy is more classified as a neurological disease. Therefore, a person who has fallen asleep for a long time should be observed by neurologists, psychotherapists or psychiatrists. If complications develop during sleep, doctors of other specialties are involved.
Lethargy in famous personalities
There is information that, in addition to Gogol, Marina Tsvetaeva, Alfred Nobel and composer Arthur Schopenhauer had a tendency towards lethargy.
Fears of the Great
The fear of being buried alive haunted not only ordinary people, but also famous personalities. The first American president, George Washington, . He repeatedly asked his loved ones that the funeral take place no earlier than two days after his death. The poetess Marina Tsvetaeva and the inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel experienced similar fear .
Article on the topic
Phobias of great people.
What were Dali, Gogol, Freud and Hitchcock afraid of? But probably the most famous taphophobe was Nikolai Gogol - more than anything else, the writer was afraid that he would be buried alive.
It must be said that the creator of Dead Souls had some reasons for this. The fact is that in his youth Gogol suffered malarial encephalitis. The disease made itself felt throughout his life and was accompanied by deep fainting followed by sleep. Nikolai Vasilyevich feared that during one of these attacks he might be mistaken for dead and buried. In the last years of his life, he was so frightened that he preferred not to go to bed and slept sitting up so that his sleep would be more sensitive. By the way, there is a legend that Gogol’s fears were justified and the writer was actually buried alive. When the writer’s grave was opened for reburial, they discovered that the body was lying in the coffin in an unnatural position, with its head turned to one side. Similar cases of the position of bodies were known before, and each time they suggested thoughts of burial alive. However, modern experts have given this phenomenon a completely logical explanation. The fact is that the boards of the coffin rot unevenly and collapse, which disrupts the position of the skeleton.
