Understanding the Devastating Sleep Disorder: Narcolepsy

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.

Sleep Attacks

Narcoleptic “sleep attacks” can occur several times a day, with each attack lasting anywhere from a few seconds to almost an hour. It is mostly during long meetings and lectures, bouts of sudden sleepiness occur.

Most of the narcolepsy patients report feeling refreshed and revived upon reawakening. Some narcolepsy patients also report that the narcoleptic attacks can be strongly hallucinogenic, or simply slightly irritating.

It is estimated that 25 people are suffering with narcolepsy out of every 100,000 people in the United States, with an estimated 125,000 individuals diagnosed with the disorder.

Narcolepsy is thought to strike individuals with a genetic predisposition, as it is most commonly repeated in certain families. Generally, narcolepsy develops during adolescence, with most individuals diagnosed between ages ten and twenty.

However, some people are diagnosed in early childhood, and some elderly may also experience the sudden onset of sleep attacks. Some studies specify that the effects of narcolepsy wane with age, even though this remains in dispute.

Narcolepsy Diagnosis

Generally, it is through the description of symptoms and by reviewing the results of an electroencephalogram (EEG), narcolepsy is diagnosed. In many cases, a medical professional will advise the patient be examined during a sleep lab. Unfortunately, there is no “cure” for narcolepsy.

Primary Narcolepsy Treatment

• The primary narcolepsy treatment involves making several lifestyle adjustments, including avoiding stimulants, getting regular exercise, and incorporating regular naps into the individual’s daytime schedule.
• In fact, the excessive daytime sleepiness can be controlled by taking two to three short naps. Narcolepsy patients may need to negotiate with their employers to allow for regular naps during the regular workday.
• Narcolepsy patients can get benefited greatly by maintaining a daily exercise regime. An individual suffering with narcolepsy can control sleep attacks, improve the quality of nighttime sleep, and help control a healthy weight with just exercising for 20 minutes a day.
• Stimulants should be avoided for several hours before bedtimes, including cigarettes, alcohol, and caffeine.
• Getting regular sleep during the normal nighttime hours is also significant in controlling the effects of narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy Medications

Narcolepsy medications usually include stimulants such as ephedrine or amphetamines. Cataplexic attacks that often accompany bouts of daytime sleepiness are sometimes controlled with antidepressant drugs, such as migraine.

Over the counter drugs and caffeine are not shown to prove effective in combating the drowsiness caused by narcoleptic sleep attacks. [Narcolepsy Drug Treatment]

A new drug was approved by the FDA in 1999 to treat excessive daytime sleepiness. The drug, Modafinil, has proved efficient in suppressing excessive daytime sleepiness, but it does not treat the other narcolepsy symptoms.

Sudden bouts of severe daytime sleepiness pose the danger of causing accidents even though narcolepsy itself does not cause any medical problems or risks.

Narcolepsy can interfere with the performance of everyday tasks, reduce overall productivity, and disrupt with normal nighttime sleep patterns.

It has been indicated by a recent research that narcolepsy may be connected to blood pressure and depression.

By maintaining normal and healthy sleep schedules, and by taking medications to combat the effects of cataplexy and excessive drowsiness, the quality of narcolepsy patients can greatly improve.