Archive for the 'Narcolepsy' Category

One of the most unusual and least common of all sleep disorders is narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a medical condition and sleep disorder that causes chronic and uncontrollable instances of daytime sleepiness.

Narcolepsy is classified as a chronic neurological disorder. It is thought that narcolepsy is caused by the brain’s inability to adjust normal sleep-wake cycles. The cause for this irregularity remains unknown.

Narcolepsy sufferer can experience the sudden onset of sleepiness and fall asleep at a moment’s notice. They may drop whatever they happen to be holding, become limp, and fall to the floor in sleep.

Symptoms of Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy sufferers may also experience three distinct symptoms apart from the sudden onset of uncontrollable sleepiness.

• The first is cataplexy, which refers to bouts of irregular muscle weakness or paralysis that occurs without loss of consciousness.
• The second symptoms are hypnopompic and hypnogogic hallucinations, which refer to hallucinations experienced while waking up or falling asleep.
• The third symptom related to narcolepsy is sleep paralysis.

Narcolepsy can wreak havoc on an individual’s quality of life with the frequent disruptions of sleep patterns. Narcolepsy patients complain of feeling consistently fatigued and irritable.

Narcolepsy can be described as an irresistible daytime sleep.

Narcolepsy patients may also experience cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations.

These four symptoms make up the term “narcolepsy tetrad.”

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

In the middle of a conversation, while driving, or while eating a meal, narcolepsy sufferers may fall asleep unintentionally. Because of their excessive sleepiness, sometimes they are unable to remember much of what they do during the day.

They may suddenly “black out” while driving a car, forget that they performed specific tasks, or forget that they made certain phone calls.

These people have difficulty performing quality work during dull and monotonous activities. The sleepiness is sometimes alleviated by taking short naps throughout the day.

This magnitude of sleepiness often has undesirable consequences. Narcolepsy sufferers have difficulty in keeping jobs, friends, and personal relationships.

It is not because that sufferers of narcolepsy are sleepy because they are lazy, bored, or unmotivated, but rather because they have an underlying physiological problem.

Cataplexy

In addition to daytime sleepiness, about 70% of narcolepsy patients experience cataplexy. Cataplexy is a sudden muscular weakness, total loss of muscle tone, or paralysis brought on by strong emotions such as anger, fear, hearty laughter, or crying.