Purkharam, a 42-year-old native of Bhadwa village,located in the district of Jodhpur division sleeps for 300 days per year. Talkingabout his daily chores, all of that is performed by him in his sleep i.e. heeats, works, and baths in his sleep. Astonishing right?
This all is because he suffers from a rare disorder named‘HPA Axis hypersomnia’ and because of this same reason, he is dubbed as ‘Kumbhakarna’ (the younger brother of Ravan in Ramayana, who used to sleep 6 hours a day).
Talking of Purkharam, he contracted this disease around 23 years ago. While most people sleep6.5 to 8 hours, while he once in bed, he sleeps for 25 days at a stretch. Thisillness has changed his lifestyle and wellbeing a lot.
He is popular among the common people in his village andhe runs a small shop which is operated only 5 days amonth. All his regular activities are performed by him with the help of hisfamily members. Initially, this illness affected him by increasing his sleepto 15 hours a day, which over the time phase reached to 7 to 8 days, and then asthe years went by his sleeping schedule reached 20 to 25 days.
According to the scientists, his condition was due to abrain protein known as TNF-alpha, which is a reason behind many disordersrelated to excessive sleepiness for example idiopathic hypersomnia, sleepapnea, and narcolepsy. And when his sleeping habit increased, his relativestook him to the doctors but at the beginning of his condition, the doctors werenot able to identify the illness.
After the increase in his sleep, he was told that he hasa rare disorder because of which he sleeps constantly; the body doesn’taccompany him even if he wishes to wake up. The onset of sleeping can occuranytime even during performing a task or function.
A day prior to sleep he suffers from a severe headache andonce he goes to bed, falls asleep and he can’t wake up. According to Purkharam’swife, Lichmi Devi, her husband's condition is improving. Earlier he used to wake up after 25 days, but recently he woke up within 12 days. And after waking up the first thing he did wasto open his shop. Despite the treatment, he says he usually feels fatigued inhis body and his productivity is nil. He also complains aboutother symptoms, mainly headaches.
Purkharam’s mother Kanvari Devi, is confident that herson will reclaim his life soon after getting cured, saying that the day is notso far.