Definition
- Sleep drunkenness
- Sleep drunkenness, clinically called confusional arousal, is a state of confusion and disorientation on waking in which a person may speak, act or respond without being properly conscious and typically without remembering it afterwards.
How it differs from ordinary grogginess
Ordinary sleep inertia leaves you slow but oriented. Confusional arousal involves genuine confusion — not knowing where you are, responding nonsensically, or performing complex actions such as turning off an alarm or holding a conversation with no memory of it.
It usually occurs when someone is woken abruptly out of deep sleep, and it is more common when sleep-deprived. Frequent or severe episodes are worth discussing with a doctor.