Introduction by Connie Ullevig from the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorder Center at Hennepin Healthcare
Was Rip lazy, shiftless, irresponsible or suffering from a sleep disorder?
The 300 year old Rip Van Winkle legend describes a major, (protracted) sleep episode. Legend has it that Rip went for a walk in the woods with his dog and his hunting rifle to escape his nagging wife. High in the Catskill Mountains, he encountered a strange little man carrying a large barrel. Rip gave the man a hand and was given a drink from the barrel as thanks. Rip fell asleep and woke to find his dog gone, his rifle rusty and falling apart, his clothes in tatters and his appearance a mess.
Once he made it back to town he discovered his wife had died 20 years previously, and his small children were now grown.
Was Rip lazy, shiftless, irresponsible or suffering from a sleep disorder? (more…)