World of the Bizarre

Man who has been unable to sleep for 2 years is desperate for answers

By T.K. Randall
August 26, 2025 ·  20 comments

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) In one of the most extreme cases of insomnia ever recorded, Oliver Alvis had been in good health until, one night two years ago, he found that he was unable to get off to sleep.

Far from being an isolated incident, it turned out that he wasn't able to sleep at all - no matter what - not even after taking strong sedatives.

He has since been on a journey to find some sort of solution to his problem.

"I don't just have a lack of sleep; it's the total disappearance of sleep," he told Mail Online.

"I don't feel sleepy. I don't fall asleep. I'm in a permanent state of alertness. Endless days turn into endless nights, and it's torment."

"The lack of sleep not only causes exhaustion, but it crumbles the spirit.""I have lost almost everything. The person I once was is gone. How can it be that something so natural, so essential as sleep, is completely taken away from me?"

Due to the lack of sleep, the 32-year-old now suffers from extreme muscle pains, an endless sense of pressure in his head, impaired vision and an inability to even walk in a straight line.

He has described it as being like wearing an iron suit 24 hours a day.

Despite consulting numerous doctors, he has yet to find a solution.

"I wander around at night, envious of the homeless who can sleep on the porches of shops," he said.

"I would rather trade places with them, just to fall asleep - something I would trade all my possessions for."

Source: Oddity Central | Comments (20)

Tags: Sleep