> They slept too much, but even in the hours that they were awake, their brains weren’t clear. They used terms like “sleep drunk” and “brain fog,” and talked about how hard it could be to stay focused and alert.
Is that feeling really rare? I have that feeling every morning. Thankfully caffeine clears it up for me. But if I skip my coffee it lasts for hours.
Now imagine that the feeling doesn't go away whatever you do.
I have similar problems and on a days like these, coffee doesn't help. It makes me alert, restless, anxious, wanting to run around and feel my heart beat strongly if I drink enough of it, but brainfog remains.
As someone who's been diagnosed with hypersomnia after several doctor's visits and sleep studies: that's correct. The fog very rarely goes away.
There's the occasional good day that comes once every few weeks/months to remind you of just how bad things are, but otherwise it's just constant fog.
Similarly to depression, things like a good diet, regular exercise, a regular sleep schedule, a bright light as an alarm clock all help improve things somewhat. Ritalin also helps if your heart can handle it.
I wasn't trying to suggest that regular sleep deprivation is as bad as what the article describes. The language and scare quotes made it sound like they were explaining "sleep fog" as a new concept.
Is that feeling really rare? I have that feeling every morning. Thankfully caffeine clears it up for me. But if I skip my coffee it lasts for hours.