Modern Mysteries

Woman claims she hasn't slept in over 40 years

By T.K. Randall
September 4, 2021

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) For most of us, several days without sleep would leave us barely able to function, yet for Li Zhanying - a woman from Henan, China - the idea of falling asleep is itself nothing more than a distant memory.

Now in her mid-40s, the last time she recalls sleeping was when she was a small child.

While this might seem implausible, nobody has actually seen her sleep. Several of her friends and neighbors have repeatedly attempted to catch her in the act, but to no avail.

Incredibly, Li's claim of having never slept in over 40 years is actually true - well, sort of.Doctors have now determined that she suffers from a very rare condition that sees her sleeping while awake and fully conscious - meaning she can be technically sleeping even while having a conversation with someone.

The medical team used data collected during a 48-hour brainwave-monitoring session to reveal that Li got light and moderate sleep despite neither going to bed or closing her eyes.

This "sleep while awake" phenomenon is similar to sleepwalking.

So while she hasn't technically gone without sleep for 40 years, she doesn't need to go to sleep like a normal person. As a result, she has lived a life twice as long as the rest of us.

Source: Oddity Central

Tags: Sleep