Eight hours of sleep is often a luxury that a lot of us do not often get. But for a rare few, this luxury can become a curse. One of them is a man from India who sleeps for almost 300 days a year, but that is definitely not voluntary. He has a sleeping disorder called “hypersomnia.” There are different levels of hypersomnia, but the extent to which the sleeping man is affected by Hypersomnia is extremely rare.

Keep scrolling down to unravel the story of Purkharam from India, the man with an unbelievable sleeping disorder.

Who is Purkharam, the man who sleeps for 300 days a year?

In Purkharam’s life, sleep is a curse. Purkharam, in his mid-forties, hails from the Nagaur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. He has been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of hypersomnia, which usually occurs when the protein in our brains called “TNF-Alpha” gets altered or fluctuates. Because of this, Purkharam ends up sleeping for 20-25 days continuously. His version of a normal life is restricted to the rest of the days in a month when he can remain awake to perform his tasks. In his case, it is a grocery store that he can operate for approximately five days when he is awake.

According to reports, Purkharam manages his daily activities like showering and eating while in a state of slumber! According to his family, initially, he used to sleep seven to eight days at a stretch. But slowly, it became worse, and he ended up sleeping 20-25 days a month. It was impossible to wake him up.

Before the disease was diagnosed, life was a puzzle for Purkharam and his family. His family members could not understand why he fell asleep all the time while at work. But more strangely, why, once asleep, it was impossible to wake him up. His family had to drag him back to the house and feed him.

Finally, the doctors recognized his illness, and he was diagnosed with a rare form of hypersomnia around 25 years back.

What is “hypersomnia,” and how rare is it?

Hypersomnia, as a condition, refers to a person’s inability to remain awake, alert, and active during the daytime despite adequate sleep at night. This condition hampers a person’s professional, social, and family life. The victim falls asleep several times a day. It affects the victim’s life and also increases the chances of accidents. The symptoms of hypersomnia include sleeping longer than the average sleeping hours of ten or more. It also includes difficulty in waking up in the morning, repeated daytime naps, appearing confused, irritated, anxious, loss of appetite, hallucinations, etc.

Hypersomnia is much different and much more severe than the usual feeling of tiredness that we all feel when we do not get adequate sleep. To sum it up, it becomes impossible for someone suffering from hypersomnia to lead a regular life. In fact, it may be life-threatening to function in that state, especially if you are handling machines or are in a high-risk job.

In most cases of hypersomnia, the cause remains undetermined. A few generic causes, according to doctors, can be sleep apnea, excessive drug or alcohol intake, obesity, or depression, and also specific medication or head injuries.

Is there a cure for hypersomnia?

Hypersomnia affects only 4%-6% of the entire world’s population, according to NCBI, the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Unfortunately,  there is no specific cure for the disease, just ways to improve the patients’ lifestyle, depending on the type of hypersomnia.

The exact causes of hypersomnia are not known. Therefore, the treatment occurs only to treat the symptoms. Therefore, it changes from one patient to another. Purkharam’s case is extremely rare, and despite treatment, he says he is sleepy most of the time!

But according to doctors, sometimes, with the right lifestyle changes and medication, it does get cured. At least, that is what Purkharam’s family is hoping for. Purkharam’s wife, Lichmi Devi, and his mother, Kanvari Devi, hope that Purkharam gets cured soon so that he can enjoy his life and not just his dreams!