Imaginary death (lethargy) is a neurological pathology characterized by a lack of response to any stimuli. It is known that a state such as lethargic sleep can last from a couple of hours to several decades. There are cases where people woke up after 20 years. The condition does not require maintaining vital processes, this means that the body does not need to receive food or perform natural needs, although modern medicine requires the administration of parenteral nutrition.
Lethargic sleep: Myths and reality
For centuries,
the state
of lethargy The fear of falling into a lethargic sleep and being buried alive was so widespread that in the last century in Germany, for example, “preliminary” tombs were set up at all large cemeteries. However, in the oldest Munich tomb, not a single case of revival of the dead taken there was recorded.
Outwardly, the state of lethargy is more reminiscent of deep sleep. But it is almost impossible to wake up a “sleeping” person; he does not respond to calls, touches, or other external stimuli. However, breathing is clearly visible. If you look closely, you can notice the trembling of the eyelids. The pulse is easily palpable - smooth, rhythmic, sometimes a little slow. Blood pressure is normal or slightly reduced. Skin color is normal, unchanged.
Only in very rare cases is a real picture of imaginary death observed. Blood pressure drops sharply, the pulse is barely detectable, breathing becomes shallow, the skin is cold and pale.
But even with the deepest lethargy, a doctor today can detect signs of life in a patient. Heart sounds are heard, and muscles and nerves contract in response to electrical stimulation; the reaction of pupil dilation to pain persists. Electrocardiograms and electroencephalograms record the biocurrents of the heart and brain.
So, at present the question is not in the plane of distinguishing lethargic sleep from death. And the term “lethargic sleep” itself is practically not used by specialists. Today they talk about hysterical hibernation, hysterical lethargy. For this condition is a manifestation of painful neurotic reactions. It develops, as a rule, in people suffering from hysteria, a form of neurosis.
At its core, hysterical lethargy has nothing in common with physiological sleep. First of all, normal sleep cannot continue continuously for a day or more (except in cases where a person is very overtired, has not slept for several days, etc.). And an attack of hysterical lethargy lasts from several hours to many days and even - in very rare cases! - years. It is interesting that during the attack the patient really sleeps for some time; this phenomenon was called “a dream within a dream.” It was possible to identify it using an electroencephalogram.
If we compare the electroencephalogram, which records the biocurrents of the brain of a sleeping person, with the electroencephalogram of a person who has fallen into a lethargic sleep, then even a non-specialist will be able to discern their sharp difference. As you know, physiological sleep is divided into two phases. The first is the so-called slow-wave sleep, with characteristic slow electrical biopotentials. The second phase is rapid sleep, or paradoxical sleep; it is characterized by rapid fluctuations of biopotentials with small amplitude.
During hysterical lethargy, the electroencephalogram records a picture of brain biocurrents corresponding to the state of wakefulness! With various irritations: noise, calls, flashes of light - an electroencephalogram shows that the brain reacts to them. But outwardly this does not manifest itself in any way; the patient does not “wake up”. As already mentioned, it is almost impossible to bring him out of his state of lethargy. Awakening can be as sudden and unexpected as the onset of an attack.
True, in some cases, hysterical lethargy is preceded by headache, lethargy, and a feeling of weakness. And a person who has repeatedly fallen into lethargy (and this is often observed in clinical practice) can predict the approach of the next attack based on familiar symptoms.
Entering, as experts say, a state of lethargy is also accompanied by significant activation of the autonomic nervous system: body temperature rises, pulse quickens, blood pressure rises, and sweating increases. Physiological characteristics are such that a person does hard physical work. This is explained by the fact that the development of hysterical lethargy is always associated with strong emotional stress.
As a rule, the attack is preceded by a nervous shock.
The mental trauma that caused it can be extremely severe and not significant at all. For in people suffering from hysteria, even minor everyday troubles cause an inadequate, too strong response.
Thus, that is, through pathological sleep, they “switch off” and escape from a life situation that is insoluble for them.
This is how one patient describes her condition during attacks: “I forget everything bad and feel good. While I’m sleeping, my mother comes to me, hugs me, kisses me, and says that she will help me.” “Escape” from a difficult problem occurs, of course, spontaneously, without the active conscious participation of the patient.
Hysterical lethargy is one of the most pronounced and rather rare manifestations of hysterical neurosis; As a rule, women, often young women, suffer from it.
During an attack, first of all, careful monitoring of the patient’s blood pressure, pulse and breathing is carried out. When “sleep” continues for a long time—several days—the patient has to be fed (if the ability to swallow food is maintained) or nutrients are administered through IVs. If necessary, measures are taken to empty the bladder and intestines.
In order to save the patient from this extremely rare form of hysterical neurosis, the underlying disease is treated.
Hysterical lethargy is not life-threatening. And lethargic sleep in those dramatic forms in which “eyewitnesses” write and talk about it is a more mythical state than a real one. The true mysteries of lethargy are much more complex and interesting than fictional ones. It has not yet been possible to fully reveal the subtle details of this pathological mechanism.
Whether this is true or not, several stories about lethargic dreams that have come down to us will be given below.
Nadezhda Lebedin was 35 years old when she suddenly fell asleep while working. This happened in 1953 in Dnepropetrovsk. And she woke up only 20 years later and said: “That year I was always sleepy. Whether at work, at home, or at the movies, I wanted to sleep. Sometimes I’d come home and I couldn’t even get to bed: I’d sit on the floor, lean my head against the bed and fall asleep. Somehow I soaked my laundry for washing, but I feel like I won’t be able to wash it. Then my husband came, and I told him: I’m dying! I don’t remember anything else.”
The woman slept in the clinic for five years, then her mother took her in. The daughter heard and understood what her loved ones were saying, but could not answer. She made only weak movements with her hand or foot.
In the summer of 1973, her mother died. Then they carried her in their arms to the coffin and said: “Say goodbye, Nadya, to your mother!” After these words, Nadya screamed. A strong shock brought the man back to life.
Norwegian Linggard fell asleep in 1919. All the doctors' efforts to wake her were in vain. She slept until 1941. When the woman opened her eyes, an adult daughter and a very old husband were sitting at her bedside, and she looked the same as she did 22 years ago.
Concert in the morgue
There were cases when patients in lethargic sleep were found already in the morgue. In December 2011, in one of the morgues in Simferopol, a man woke up from a long sleep to the sounds of heavy metal. One of the city's rock bands used the morgue as their rehearsal space. The room was well combined with the group's image, and so they could be sure that their music would not disturb anyone. During one of the rehearsals, the metalheads heard screams coming from one of the refrigeration units. The man, whose name has not been released, was released. And after this incident, the group found another place for rehearsals.
However, the case in Simferopol is a rarity in the modern world. After the invention of the electroencephalograph - a device that records the biocurrents of the brain - the danger of being buried alive was practically reduced to zero.
Answer from Eva Snegova
from a lethargic lullaby
Reply from Caucasoid
The state of lethargy can last from several hours to tens of years. Medicine describes cases of people falling into lethargic sleep due to intoxication, large blood loss, hysterical attack, and fainting. It is interesting that when there was a threat to life (bombing during the war), those sleeping in a lethargic sleep woke up, were able to walk, and after artillery shelling they fell asleep again.
Reply from luxury
Often, lithargic sleep occurs due to frequent lack of sleep.
Reply from Low-grade
Occurs with hysteria, general exhaustion, after severe unrest. The attack is sudden and lasts from several hours to many days.
Answer from Dmitry
from being on the INTERNET for a long time!! -sleep!
Answer from Olga Novgorodskaya
Lethargic sleep is coma. Coma is primary, associated with severe trauma, most often traumatic brain injury, large blood loss, and intoxication. Primary coma can occur as a result of clinical death. This is a kind of protective reaction of the body. The voltage has risen to dangerous levels and all fuses blow: the central nervous system shuts down. Coma can be secondary, caused by chronic, long-term diseases of some organs and systems: liver, kidneys, blood vessels, etc. After a coma, only 5-6 percent of people are able to return to normal life, and then only after a long recovery period. In Poland, one railway worker lay in a coma for 20 years, came to his senses, but could barely sit after long training and hold his head,
Answer from Olya
ask me how)) and the cat looks like mine
Answer from Mikhail Andreev
After strong experiences.
Answer from Your Winchester
under the car and you're done!)
Several centuries ago, lethargic coma was a nightmare for humanity. Almost everyone was afraid of being buried alive. To fall into such a state means to resemble the deceased so much that the relatives had no choice but to prepare to see them off on their last journey.
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.
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.
How to distinguish between death and lethargy
There is a custom to bury the deceased on the third day after death - then traces of decomposition are obvious to everyone. According to the laws of medieval Italy, the dead were supposed to be buried faster - 24 hours after death, and this almost cost the life of 40-year-old Francesco Petrarca. He lay in a lethargic sleep for only 20 hours; no one had time to pay attention to the absence of traces of decay on his body. He woke up in the midst of his funeral, miraculously escaping a painful death.
Signs of death
Doctors began to suspect a large number of burials alive in the 18th and 19th centuries. To recognize the difference between deep lethargic sleep and death was quite difficult at that time for those who were not familiar with medicine. In a severe form of lethargy, there is no pulse, no heartbeat can be heard, breathing leaves no trace on the mirror, the body remains cold - all this looks like death. But its onset is proven by other signs.
- The most reliable way to verify death is to examine the body for cadaveric spots; they appear 1.5-2 hours after cardiac arrest and show that vital processes in the body have stopped.
- 3-4 hours after death, rigor mortis develops - the muscles contract and fix the deceased in the position in which he was. Changing your posture requires significant effort.
- 2-5 days after death, signs of decay appear - a cadaverous smell and greenish spots on the stomach and throughout the body.
Many creative people who suffered from taphophobia: N.V. Gogol and M.I. Tsvetaeva, A. Nobel and A. Schopenhauer - knew well how to distinguish lethargic sleep from death. They insistently asked not to bury them without obvious signs of decay.
Signs of lethargic sleep
Only devices can capture life during deep lethargic sleep. An electrocardiogram is capable of recording weak and rare biocurrents of the heart. In the 60s of the 20th century, English scientists tested a similar device in one of the morgues: out of 100 dead, two were found to have fallen into a lethargic sleep, taking a cardiogram became their salvation. Brain activity is recorded by an electroencephalogram. By taking measurements throughout the day, you can even determine when a lethargic person is dreaming about something (REM sleep phase), and how long the waking phase lasts.
Doctors are confident that burying people in a state of lethargy is impossible today. However, even in the 21st century, fatal mistakes are made. At the end of 2011, in the capital of Crimea, musicians were rehearsing a hard rock concert... in a morgue. They hoped that heavy metal would not harm the dead. Their music woke up a sleeping man, who cried out for help from the refrigerator. Less fortunate was a resident of the Pskov region, who no one helped when he woke up in the morgue - he died there from the cold in February 2013.
Fortunately, in our time it is almost impossible to make a mistake about whether a person is alive or dead.
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.
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.
Features and types of encephalitis Economo
Frequent outbreaks of this disease were recorded during the First World War. Most often, it ended in death. Nowadays, Economo's encephalitis is rare.
The disease is divided into 2 types:
- chronic;
- spicy.
During the acute course of the disease, inflammation of the brain occurs. In the chronic stage, serious brain disorders occur and mental changes are observed.
The causative agents have not yet been identified. It is believed to be transmitted by airborne droplets. During the course of the disease, symptoms such as:
- increased body temperature;
- headache;
- blurred vision;
- nausea;
- vomit;
- excessive sleepiness;
- insomnia;
- and other sleep disorders.
After waking up, the patient can fall asleep immediately, despite the discomfort, extraneous noise and unsuitable conditions. It is almost impossible to distinguish the stages of the disease. The prognosis for recovery is unfavorable; as a rule, the death of a person occurs, that is, death.
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.
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.
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.
Concert in the morgue
There were cases when patients in lethargic sleep were found already in the morgue. In December 2011, in one of the morgues in Simferopol, a man woke up from a long sleep to the sounds of heavy metal. One of the city's rock bands used the morgue as their rehearsal space. The room was well combined with the group's image, and so they could be sure that their music would not disturb anyone. During one of the rehearsals, the metalheads heard screams coming from one of the refrigeration units. The man, whose name has not been released, was released. And after this incident, the group found another place for rehearsals.
However, the case in Simferopol is a rarity in the modern world. After the invention of the electroencephalograph - a device that records the biocurrents of the brain - the danger of being buried alive was practically reduced to zero.
What is lethargic sleep, interesting facts about cases of “imaginary death” encountered in medical practice, the causes of lethargy and its manifestation - you will read about this in this publication.
What is the difference between coma and lethargic sleep?
To compare both conditions, we list the symptoms of each of them separately.
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.
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:
Twenty years in oblivion
That’s exactly how many years Nadezhda Lebedina from Dnepropetrovsk slept, making it onto the list of the most “persistent” people who not only woke up after a prolonged lethargy, but also completely restored their health. The starting point was 1954, when a 34-year-old woman had a strong quarrel with her husband. Being in a state of severe nervous tension, she went to bed and woke up only 20 years later.
All this time her mother took care of her, and she was the reason for her awakening. Or rather, the news of the death of the closest and dearest person. While in a coma, Nadezhda heard the doctors’ voices and felt the constant presence of her mother, and when she found out that she had died, she immediately came to her senses. After such a long period of oblivion, Lebedina lived for another twenty years.
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.
On the road to sleep
Before plunging into the mysterious world of myths associated with lethargic sleep, it is worth recalling several cases of this condition, which are actively discussed both in tabloid journalism and in scientific literature.
So, in 1919, an incident occurred with a middle-aged Norwegian woman named Linggard. She fell asleep and remained in the deepest sleep for 22 years. According to available evidence, Linggard did not feed, and only woke up when Norway was already under the control of Nazi troops. After her awakening, the Norwegian looked the same as she did 22 years earlier. True, a year later she aged two decades at once.
The most famous and actually documented case is the dream of our compatriot Nadezhda Lebedina, who in 1954 fell asleep after a serious quarrel with her husband, and woke up twenty years later. This achievement is included in the Guinness Book of Records.
"Unsolved Secrets": What Dreams Hidden
Sometimes those who fall asleep are not very lucky. So, eight years ago, an elderly man from China was solemnly buried in a local cemetery in compliance with all rituals. However, in the midst of the ceremony, the old man crawled out of the coffin and, with surprise, began asking those relatives who had not yet run away in horror about what was really happening.
It is not surprising that in classical literature there are constantly plots related to premature burial due to lethargic sleep. Edgar Allan Poe wrote the story “The Mystery of the House of Usher,” in which the main character buries his sister prematurely. And the classic of Russian literature Nikolai Gogol died of psychosis caused by the fact that he was terrified of falling asleep and being buried alive.
But does lethargic sleep really exist and how does this state differ from ordinary sleep?
Forget yourself and fall asleep
But was there any reason for such fear? Unfortunately, cases where doctors mistook those who fell asleep in a lethargic sleep for the dead were not uncommon.
poet Petrarch almost became a victim of a “medical error”
. The poet was seriously ill, and when he fell into severe oblivion, the doctors considered him dead. Petrarch woke up a day later in the midst of preparations for the funeral, and he felt better than before he fell asleep. After this incident he lived another 30 years.
Other cases of lethargy have been described. For example, the famous Russian scientist, biologist Ivan Pavlov
for many years I observed
the peasant Kachalkin
, who slept... for 22 years! Two decades later, Kachalkin came to his senses and said that while he was sleeping, he could hear the nurses’ conversations and was partially aware of what was happening around him. A few weeks after his awakening, the man died of heart failure.
Other cases of lethargic sleep have been described, and in the period from 1910 to 1930, almost an epidemic of lethargy began in Europe. Due to the increasing incidence of lethargic sleep, people, as in the Middle Ages, began to fear being buried by mistake. This condition is called taphophobia.
Stages of knowledge
To better understand the nature of such an extremely rare state as lethargic sleep, we should turn to ordinary sleep. On average, we spend a third of our lives in bed. Out of 70 years, we sleep for 23 years and are awake for only 47 years.
So what is sleep? In general, if we consider sleep as a normal process, then it is a normal state for the body with a minimal level of brain activity and a reduced response to external stimuli. And besides, sleep can be different.
"Educational films": What we do in our dreams
Sleep is characterized by four stages of falling asleep, each of which is characterized by a certain level of brain activity. The first and second stages are the so-called superficial sleep. It is relatively shallow, and the first stage has quite an official name - dormancy. The third and fourth stages correspond to deep sleep. It is in this state that restorative processes occur in the brain, which allow the body to invigorate.
In addition, there is also the so-called REM sleep phase. Speaking in non-scientific language, in this state the human brain has woken up, but the body is still sleeping. Therefore, during the REM stage of sleep, the brain reproduces various images that we call dreams.
It may seem that sleep is a very simple process. The brain turns off, we fall on the bed, and everything is ready - goodbye to the world until the morning! But no, the process of falling asleep is regulated by a large number of parts of the brain. Even more than the work of the respiratory and circulatory systems; the centers of these systems are located in the medulla oblongata, while the sleep centers are located in the hypothalamus, thalamus, pons, medulla oblongata and even the cerebral cortex.
How to treat lethargic sleep? Are conditions possible in which people can go without food and water for 10–20 years and wake up the same as they were when they fell asleep?
