Karolina Olsson

Karolina Olsson (29 October 1861 – 5 April 1950), also known as ("The Sleeper of Oknö"), was a Swedish woman who purportedly remained in hibernation between 1876 and 1908 (32 years). This is believed to be the longest time that anyone has lived in this manner who then awoke without any residual symptoms.

Life Olsson was born on 29 October 1861 in Oknö near Mönsterås, the second-eldest of five children; her siblings were all brothers.

Her father was a fisherman and unable to afford a doctor, and the family relied instead on the advice of friends and the town midwife. Olsson's mother force-fed her milk and sugar water. Finally, the neighbors paid for a visit from a doctor, who was unable to wake Olsson and determined that she was in a coma. This doctor continued to visit her for a year, after which he wrote to the editor of Scandinavia's leading medical journal, soliciting the help of other professionals in finding a cure for Olsson's continuous sleep-state. On 2 August 1892, she was released from the hospital without awakening or her situation improving. She was very thin and pale, and she showed sensitivity to light during the first few days after awakening. She was weak and had difficulty speaking.

Psychiatrist Dr. Frödeström met Olsson in 1910. He published a paper on her condition in 1912 titled , but his analysis was limited to her situation being an unclear case of hibernation. It was later revealed that Olsson did wake up occasionally and, when she did, she reacted with sorrow and anger. Frödeström speculated that Olsson thought that she was seriously ill, and that she remained still with her eyes closed and refused to eat to elicit sympathy. It has been conjectured that her mother had helped her and kept the fact secret that she was no longer hibernating.

Death Olsson died on 5 April 1950 aged 88 from an intracranial hemorrhage.