Strange woman who hasn't slept for... 40 years

Chinese media recently reported the strange case of a woman who claims to have not slept for about four decades but also never feels tired or sleepy.

Most people need sleep to recharge their bodies, but Li Zhanying , a woman from Henan, China, claims to have gone 40 years without sleep. This "miracle" has been confirmed by her husband and neighbors.

The last time Li remembers taking a nap is when she was 5 or 6 years old, but now that she is in her 40s, sleep is nothing more than… a memory.

Li Zhanying - the woman who doesn't sleep.

Living in a village in Zhongmou County, Henan Province, Li is locally famous for his ability to stay awake day and night .

In recent years, some neighbors have tried to challenge her by playing cards with her under the streetlights at night, but they eventually go home or fall asleep right then and there, while Li remains awake.

Ms. Li's husband, Mr. Liu Suoquin, also confirmed that his wife seemed to not need any sleep at all. Since they got married, he noticed that she stayed up all night, doing housework even late at night. She kept telling him that she couldn't sleep. Later, Liu Suoquin went to buy some sleeping pills for Ms. Li, but they didn't work either.

According to Bastille Post, Li Zhanying sought medical help several times for her condition, but doctors found nothing unusual.

However, after visiting a medical center in Beijing recently, the mystery of Li's decades-long sleep deprivation was finally solved.

A team of doctors used advanced sensors to monitor the woman for 48 hours and discovered that she was in fact sleeping, but not in the same way most of us do.

CCTV along with a team of doctors came to this woman's house to record her 24/7 sleepless life. Her diet and daily work intensity were also recorded.

After the first day, these doctors were all amazed at how good Li Zhanying's physical strength and energy were. She could work twice as hard as other farmers without ever feeling tired.

Doctors also discovered that Li Zhanying's body had something special. She fell into a resting state even when she was chatting with people or working. Her eyes were half-closed and after just a few minutes, her body immediately recovered a lot of energy.

On the second day, the team of doctors worked in three shifts, and one of the doctors still discovered something very special about Li Zhanying. They realized that it was not that Li did not sleep, but that she had a special way of sleeping. If we close our eyes to sleep at night, this woman sleeps even with her eyes open. Even at night, even when lying in bed talking to her husband, this woman falls into a light sleep state.

Li Zhanying is in very good health.

Experts analyzed Li Zhanying's EEG and found that during the day, her EEG fluctuations were much smaller than those of other people. That means her energy consumption was much less than that of other people. Li Zhanying could easily fall into deep sleep even when she was awake, which allowed her to recover a lot of physical strength and energy through short rest periods during the day.

Doctors described the phenomenon as "wake-sleep" , a state similar to sleepwalking , in which some of Li Zhanying's nerves and organs remained active while she slept.

Doctors said that Li was actually "fooled" by her own brain . When she was resting, part of her body went into a sleep state, but without having to close her eyes.

However, there are still many things that today's science cannot explain. In any case, experts have at least proven that Li Zhanying's body is very normal, to the point that she is much healthier than other people.