Have you ever woken up in such a confused state that you didn’t know what the heck you were doing?
Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.
CBS News reported that a new study, published recently in the journal Neurology, found that one in seven of us has experienced “sleep drunkenness”—the state of feeling confused or disoriented upon waking up and not having control over your actions.
The study also determined that 84% of study participants who experienced sleep drunkenness suffered from a related sleep disorder, a mental health disorder or were taking psychotropic drugs such as antidepressants, the network news reported.
Similar to sleepwalkers, people who suffer from sleep drunkenness are not aware of their actions, which could cause harm to themselves or others. People also may not remember what they did during an episode of sleep drunkenness.
“These episodes of waking up confused have received considerably less attention than sleepwalking even though the consequences can be just as serious,” study author Dr. Maurice M. Ohayon, of Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, said in a statement.
More research should be done to determine whether the disorder can be treated, Ohayon said.
