Sudden Sleep Attacks Even While Walking

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition – November 7, 1998

As the weather gets colder, it becomes harder to get up in the morning. About an hour after lunch, many people feel drowsy. This kind of sleepiness is a common experience. However, dozing off during a formal matchmaking meeting or an important business negotiation can ruin everything. And sometimes, such drowsiness is not caused by sleep deprivation.

A 22-year-old man once fell asleep while waiting at a red light as he was driving. He reportedly woke up only on the third green light, having caused a traffic jam. He has an easygoing personality and is cheerful, but when he laughs loudly, his knees sometimes suddenly give out.

He had been troubled by sleepiness since middle school. People around him treated him as strange or lazy. Despite being kind and persistent at work, he would lose strength at crucial moments. At the urging of his boss, he reluctantly visited a psychiatrist.

A sleep polysomnography test revealed REM sleep appearing immediately upon falling asleep—something that normally doesn't happen—leading to a diagnosis of narcolepsy. Said to have afflicted even “Sleeping Beauty,” it’s a rare disorder affecting about one in 2,000 people. It causes sudden sleep attacks during times of heightened stress or tension. In some cases, a person may even fall asleep while walking. The disorder has been recognized for about 120 years.

The late River Phoenix portrayed a narcoleptic character in My Own Private Idaho (1991). He played a male prostitute longing for the mother who abandoned him—a role that was genuinely tragic and poignant. His co-star was Keanu Reeves, who later skyrocketed to fame with Speed.

In the film, the scenery of Idaho shifts instantly to Rome within sleep-onset hallucinations, then returns to the rural landscape of Idaho. It was like reliving a world suspended between dreams and hallucinations. Narcolepsy falls under the category of hypersomnia disorders. While most hypersomnia cases in middle-aged and older adults are due to sleep apnea syndrome, in younger individuals, narcolepsy may be a possible cause.

The 22-year-old man began taking methylphenidate, a kind of stimulant that helps him stay awake. As a result, his sleep attacks disappeared, and his reputation at work was restored.