Narcolepsy and Symptoms

From LoveToKnow Sleep

If you are curious about narcolepsy and symptoms that might indicate you are narcoleptic, you’ve come to the right place. Below you will find information that will help you when talking to a doctor about your concerns.

Narcolepsy and Symptoms

What is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that causes overwhelming daytime drowsiness and intermittent sleep “episodes,” or sleep attacks. During a normal sleep cycle, people enter early sleep stages and then proceed to deep sleep, finally ending up in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. It is during REM sleep that we dream and experience muscle paralysis. For narcoleptics, REM sleep happens almost immediately upon falling asleep, and can happen seemingly at random throughout the day. As well, REM cycle symptoms such as dreaming, paralysis, and sleep paralysis can occur during waking hours.

These spontaneous sleep attacks can happen at any time, during any activity. While the onset of narcolepsy can happen at any age, it most commonly appears between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.

What Causes Narcolepsy?

A mystifying sleep problem, scientists do not fully understand what causes narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is slightly more common in men than women, and occurs in all racial and ethnicity groups. Research has discovered a possible link between the disorder and a chemical in the brain called hypocretin, as well as genes that control the neurochemicals that trigger sleep and awake cycles.

What Are the Symptoms of Narcolepsy?

Symptoms of narcolepsy are often mistaken for other problems, such as depression, fatigue, fainting, and seizure disorders. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should check with your doctor to discuss the possible presence of a sleep disorder:

  • Excessive daytime sleepiness – Sleepiness that interferes with your activities on a daily basis, regardless of how well you have been sleeping at night. Signs of excessive daytime sleepiness are:
    • Exhaustion
    • Depression
    • Memory difficulties
    • Lack of energy
    • Mental cloudiness
  • Sleep paralysis – Everyone experiences paralysis at night while they are sleeping; but, this temporary immobility should not occur once you wake up. If you are waking up still paralyzed for a period of time, this may be a sign of a larger problem. It is important to know, though, that sleep paralysis is fairly common and does not necessarily mean that you have narcolepsy.
  • Cataplexy – This is usually characterized by a sudden loss or decrease or muscle control. It can appear as muscle weakness, slurring of speech, or total collapse. Cataplexy seems to occur often during periods of intense emotion, such as laughing or yelling.
  • Hallucinations – Narcoleptic hallucinations tend to be very vivid and can occur at any time, as if you were having a dream while awake. If you are experiencing hallucinations, please check with your doctor.
  • Automatic behavior or sleep walking – During an episode of automatic behavior, you may begin to perform normal daily tasks while you are sleeping. This could be anything from making a phone call to doing the dishes. Often there is no memory of completing these tasks, and they are not performed very well.

Are You Narcoleptic?

The only want to find out for sure if you have narcolepsy is by talking to your doctor. He or she may refer you to a sleep specialist, who will perform a sleep study to find out if you have a disorder and how to treat it.

While the condition is chronic and there is no cure, effective treatments are available. It is important to seek treatment if you believe that you are narcoleptic as there are many risks if the disorder goes untreated. These risks include:

  • Falling asleep while driving
  • Cutting yourself while preparing food
  • Head injury from collapsing

Also, intense emotional reactions can trigger an attack, which may cause you to fall asleep during a time when you must react quickly to a dangerous situation.

Further Resources on Narcolepsy and Symptoms

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