TV - Movies
The Serious
Condition You
Likely Forgot
Homer Suffers
From On The
Simpsons
By MIKAEL TRENCH
As the protagonist of the beloved and long-running primetime animated series "The Simpsons," Homer represents the American everyman, just as the other denizens of Springfield are meant to satire much of American culture. Characterized as oafish, lazy, and incompetent, the influences on his personality can be blamed on several factors, such as his upbringing and love of beer, but there is an often forgotten explanation for his laziness.
In the premiere episode of Season 27, "Every Man's Dream," Homer is diagnosed with narcolepsy by Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert. Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder that causes the afflicted person to fall asleep at random without little warning, lose control of their muscles, have hallucinations, and experience sleep paralysis.
In an interview with CNN Health, Russell Rosenberg, chief executive of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine, said, "I certainly hope that Homer's story will bring more attention to [narcolepsy]. He's not the typical case, although the fact that he is now being identified as having narcolepsy does exemplify the fact that many people can go years and years without getting the proper diagnosis."