Shakespeare Described Sleep Disorders Centuries Before Term was Coined

Following is a news release based on an article published in the October issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The AAN is an association of more than 14,500 neurologists and neuroscience professionals dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For a copy of the full article or for more information, contact Rona Stewart at 612-695-2740 or by e-mail [email protected].

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL WENESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1997

Shakespeare Described Sleep Disorders Centuries Before Term was Coined

PAUL, MN (October 22, 1997) Shakespeare vividly described sleep disorders affecting his characters centuries before the public and medical professionals recognized these common, often treatable problems, according to a Los Angeles neurologist and sleep disorder specialist.

ìThe medical profession has spent the past several decades confirming what Shakespeare knew four centuries ago,î said Yury Furman, MD, medical director of the California Sleep Medical Group at the Division of Pacific Sleep Medicine Services and author of an article on Shakespeare and sleep disorders published in the October issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

From Lady Macbethís sleepwalking and sleeptalking to King Henry Vís insomnia, sleep was a blessing denied to many of Shakespeareís major characters, Furman said.

ìShakespeare didnít try to describe something abnormal, he was just describing what he saw,î Furman said. ìProblems with sleep are a factor of life, in Shakespeareís time and today. Everyone, at one time or another, will have a problem with sleep.î

Insomnia, which now affects 20 to 40 percent of adults, appears often in Shakespeareís plays, Furman said. Listing all the responsibilities of the crown, King Henry V contrasts his insomnia to the sound sleep of a slave: ìNot all these, laid in bed majestical, Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave, Who with a body fillíd and vacant mind Gets him to rest, crammíd with distressful breadÖî

Furman said, ìFor Shakespeare, insomnia was a kingís disease. He understood that if you are anxious, you canít fall asleep. In our society, the more we depend on intellectual work, the more we worry and are prone to insomnia.î

The playwright, who was born in 1564, even portrayed sleep apnea, a condition characterized by decreased effective breathing, loud snoring and interrupted sleep. It took the medical profession until 1972 to officially recognize this disorder, Furman said. In Henry IV, the character Falstaff is described as ìFast asleep behind the arras [curtain], and snorting like a horse,î as another character comments, ìHark, how hard he fetches breath.î

ìIt seems likely that Falstaff suffered from obstructive sleep apnea, which may have been worsened and/or precipitated by excessive alcohol consumption,î Furman writes in the Neurology article.

Shakespeare also recognized the psychological problems often underlying recurrent nightmares and other disorders such as sleepwalking and sleeptalking, Furman said. In discussing his wifeís problems with the doctor, Macbeth says, ìCure her of that: Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased; Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow; Raze out the written troubles of the brain; And with some sweet oblivious antidote cleanse the stuft bosom of that perilous stuff which weighs upon the heartÖî

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