Abstract

Washington Irving was an American author who wrote a short story about a man who fell asleep for twenty years and then suddenly awoke to find that the world had changed dramatically during his odd slumber. This eponymous literary character has given his name to a condition known in the medical literature as Kleine-Levin Syndrome. Rip Van Winkle Syndrome refers to this disorder which is found mainly in adolescent boys and is characterized by hypersomnolence. There is no cure for this syndrome. However, like Rip van Winkleʼs slumber, the disorder suddenly disappears after a period of years.