A Chinese woman has baffled scientists after revealing that she hasn't slept for more than forty years. Li Zanying, from Henan Province in eastern China, told local media that she hasn't closed her eyes since she was five years old. Li's husband and neighbors confirmed to Chinese media the veracity of her strange condition and that she has not slept for years. Her neighbors noted that they verified her claims by taking turns sitting with her to ensure she did not sleep, which indeed happened.
Li's husband, Liu Suokun, also confirmed that she does not sleep, stating that since the day they got married, she has always done household chores throughout the night. Liu tried to help his wife sleep, initially believing it was just insomnia; he bought her sleeping pills, but her condition did not change, as she remained awake, according to the British newspaper "The Sun."
Li sought medical help, but doctors were unable to provide an accurate diagnosis of her condition, which led her to visit a sleep center in Beijing. A team of doctors concluded that Li does actually sleep, but not in the same way that most people do. According to the scientists, Li enters sleep not while lying in bed with her eyes closed, but when she is talking to her husband, for example, as her eye movements slow down, and she falls asleep while still capable of speaking.
An EEG monitor showed that Li spends no more than ten minutes a day with her eyes closed. Scientists consider her condition akin to sleepwalking, where the body remains active even during sleep.
