Sleeping most of the day sounds like a dream for some people. However, for people with idiopathic hypersomnia, it’s more like a living nightmare. The rare neurological disorder forces them to sleep anywhere from 10 to 18 hours a day, leaving only a few usable hours before exhaustion takes over.

A study published in PLOS One analyzed hundreds of blog posts, videos, and social media entries from people living with the condition. Researchers wanted to understand what daily life looks like when almost all of it happens while unconscious. The accounts describe a constant cycle of exhaustion, long mornings spent trying to wake up, and a sense of losing entire years to sleep. “When there are only 12 wakeful hours in a day and a third is spent trying to wake up, there isn’t much time for anything

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