Man sleeps 300 days a year due to rare disorder

A man in western India reportedly sleeps 20 to 25 days per month, or 300 days per year, because of a rare medical condition called axis hypersomnia.

Reports on the man started circulating in 2021, when he was 42 years old, but he was diagnosed 23 years prior.

The man, named Purkharam, lives in the Bhadwa village, which is located in Rajasthan's Nagaur district. Once he is asleep, it becomes almost impossible to wake him.

Family members have to perform daily tasks for him, such as bathing and feeding him while he is asleep, local media reports say. When Purkharam becomes restless in his sleep, relatives are cued that he has to go to the bathroom, so they bring him and hold him up on the toilet seat.

He is able to operate his local grocery store for just five days per month, according to The Indian Express.

What's worse, the long stretches of sleep don't make him feel rested. He still feels tired and has severe headaches. At times, he'll fall back asleep while sitting up.

In earlier years, Purkharam would sleep around 15 hours per day, but that eventually grew to more and more hours, and then days, only worsening over time, according to Zee News. His wife Lichmi Devi and mother Kanvari Devi hold on to hope that he will one day be able to live a normal life.

Hypersomnia is a neurological disorder of excessive sleepiness, where sleep oftentimes provides no relief, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Sufferers may prove unable to stay awake and alert during the day, says the Cleveland Clinic. It is usually diagnosed in adolescence or young adulthood.