What happens when sleep takes over your life?

You feel like you just woke up out of the deepest sleep ever, and you're trying to function.

There's times I could best describe it as it hurts to be awake.

It's Wednesday, March 13th, and not to worry, it's still Science Friday.

I'm SciFRI producer Shoshana Buxbaum.

For people with idiopathic hypersomnia or IH for short, no amount of sleep can shake a

profound feeling of sleepiness. People with a disorder can sometimes

sleep for over 24 hours. Even stimulants and multiple alarm clocks can't keep them awake. IH is rare,

just a small fraction of 1% of people receive a diagnosis, and now scientists are doing more

research into the condition, thanks in

large part to patients organizing and advocating for better treatment options. But the underlying

cause remains unknown. Here's Ira Flato. Joining me now to talk more about it are my guests,

Dr. Quinn Eastman, science writer, and author of The Woman

Who Couldn't Wake Up, Hypersomnia and the Science of Sleepiness. He's based in Decatur, Georgia,

and Diana Kimmel, co-founder of the Hypersomnia Alliance and board member of the Hypersomnia

Foundation based in Atlanta, Georgia. Both of you,

welcome to Science Friday. Thank you for having us. Thank you very much. You're welcome.

Diana, I want to start with the basics. Tell us about what is IH?

Idiopathic hypersomnia is a neurological sleep disorder where no matter how much sleep you get,

you still will wake up unrefreshed, exhausted, tired, and just in no way ready to face the day.

And three hours can go by after waking up.

And all you can think about is that next chance

...