Sleep drunkenness is a real sleep disorder, officially referred to as confusional arousal. It is characterized by episodes in which a person awakes and remains in a state of disorientation, and occurs in one out of every seven people, according to a 2014 study from the National Institutes of Health. Sleep drunkenness is most likely to occur when a person is in the deeper state of the sleep cycle known as non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and gets woken up suddenly. Over 60% of all reported episodes of sleep drunkenness last over five minutes, and 84% of people with the disorder also reported having other sleeping disorders or using drugs that alter brain chemicals, such as antidepressants.
More about sleep disorders:
- Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from a sleeping disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Around 15% of adults sleepwalk, and may even perform hazardous activities while asleep, such as cooking or driving.
- 40,000 traffic injuries each year in the US are estimated to be due to driving after not having enough sleep, according to the National Department of Transportation.