Sleep Drunkenness Common among Americans: Study

Experts at Freddie Mac, the government-backed lending giant, analyzed some important market factors and found three main reasons why mortgage applications have remained scanty even though rates are now at their 2014 lowest.

Experts at Freddie Mac, the government lending giant say there are three main reasons for a slide in mortgage application despite rates at their lowest in 2014.

Study finds nearly one-in-every seven Americans suffer from sleep drunkenness.

Sleep drunkenness also called as confusional arousal is a state where a person who has woken up from sleep is unable to immediately recollect what occurred the night before or where he/ she is. This occurs when one is suddenly aroused in between non-rapid eye movement sleep or deep sleep by a phone call or loud noise. Experts from Stanford University observed sleep habits of 19,000 adults of whom 15.2 percent reportedly had at least one episode of sleep drunkenness within the last one year. Almost half of these subjects experienced confusional arousal over twice a week, reports the CNN.

In addition, the researchers noted one third of participants from this group said the confusion persisted for less than five minutes after waking up, while more than 32 percent said their episodes lasted for five to 15 minutes. Only 30 percent of the subjects with difficulty in gauging the present state after being disturbed from a peaceful slumber had sleep drunkenness for over 15 minutes.

The research warns if these forms of sleep disturbance recur then people must consult their doctors as they are prone to behave violently after being forcefully awoken from deep sleep.

"You can hurt yourself physically, hurt someone else. You wake up irritable and possibly violent," said  Maurice Ohayon, study author and sleep expert at the Stanford University, reports the CNN.

The authors advise shift workers or those who constantly travel to extend their sleep time for extra 15 minutes so that they have enough time to remember where they are and adapt to the present environment.

The study also found 84 percent of those with sleep drunkenness either have sleep disorders or take anti-depressants. The authors believe inadequate sleep could be one of the primary reasons behind sleep drunkenness.

"If you are getting less than 6 hours a night, and you are having confusional arousal, then the first thing you need to do is try getting more sleep," said  David Alexander Schulman, director of the sleep lab at Emory University in Atlanta, reports the CNN.

More information is available online in the journal Neurology.