Below, you’ll find must-know information about narcolepsy.
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that affects the brain. It causes excessive daytime sleepiness and it’s associated with hallucinations, paralysis, and insomnia. The hallucinations can be very realistic, causing fear and anxiety.
The disease affects people of all ages. Some cases are more severe than others. It’s a serious condition that can be difficult to control.
Many people who suffer from narcolepsy fall asleep during the day, often during activity. When they wake up, they may find it difficult to remember what they did.
People with narcolepsy may have a lot of trouble remembering things. In some cases, a person with narcolepsy has automatic behavior, which means they do not need to be awake to carry out activities. They may store items in strange locations or have accidents.
People with narcolepsy are at a higher risk of having accidents while asleep. This is because they don’t remember what they did during their sleep. This could eventually put them in a very harmful situation.
If narcolepsy is left untreated, it can cause emotional and physical problems. It can interfere with day-to-day activities and affect the individual’s ability to socialize.
This can have a negative impact on the individual’s career and personal life.
Symptoms can occur at any time in a person’s life, but they usually start in adolescence or childhood. It is thought that genetics may play a role in determining who gets narcolepsy. However, this is not completely known.
Knowing the various narcolepsy symptoms and treatments can lessen the risk of the condition becoming worse.
Below are narcolepsy symptoms and treatments worth knowing about.
14. Hypnagogic Hallucinations
People with narcolepsy may have hypnagogic hallucinations, which are a form of dreamlike state that occurs between waking and sleeping.
These hallucinations can include visual, auditory, and tactile sensations. Hypnagogic hallucinations occur in up to one-third of narcoleptics, but they can be present in healthy adults.
Some people with narcolepsy experience episodes of drowsiness, which can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can be uncomfortable and sometimes even frightening. However, they are often a temporary relief from fatigue.
13. Cataplexy
Cataplexy, or sudden loss of muscle tone, is a common symptom of narcolepsy. It may be mild or severe. In severe cases, cataplexy can lead to complete muscle weakness, causing the person to collapse.
Most narcoleptics experience cataplexy episodes. These episodes usually occur after a strong emotion or a stressful event. The episode may last as little as a few minutes or as long as a few hours.
During a cataplexy episode, the person’s vision is blurred, the muscles twitch, and the voice stutters. Some patients even report that they have a drooping eyebrow, a dropped jaw, or a limp body.
12. Poor Sleep
Narcolepsy is caused by a loss of hypocretin-producing neurons. Since hypocretin plays a key role in regulating the brain’s sleep and wake cycles, the individual is most likely to experience poor sleep.
Aside from poor sleep, loss of hypocretin can result in a variety of symptoms, such as drowsiness, and hallucinations.
11. Sleepiness
The fact that patients suffering from narcolepsy get poor sleep at night contributes greatly to why they end up sleepy the whole day.
During sleep, a peptide molecule called hypocretin is produced in the brain. Normally, it is in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls wakefulness. During narcolepsy, the hypocretin levels are too low, which can cause the individual to experience sleepiness.
10. Sleep Attacks
Sleep attacks are usually caused by weakness and a lack of control over one’s voluntary muscles. This results in a sudden loss of muscle tone causing the individual to suffer from sudden sleep attacks.
The abrupt onset of intense feelings, such as fear, laughing, tension, wrath, or excitement can also trigger sudden sleep attacks.
9. Daytime Sleepiness
When a person has narcolepsy, their REM sleep cycles are disturbed, and they frequently enter REM sleep within a few minutes after falling asleep, which is far sooner than the typical time for entering REM sleep.
Patients with narcolepsy are more likely to have episodes of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep than people without the condition, which is caused by changes in the brain that disrupt regular sleep patterns. These disruptions can cause excessive daytime sleepiness.
8. REM Sleep Issues
There is evidence that environmental toxins can affect the body’s ability to control REM sleep. Other underlying health issues such as brain disease and tumors can also cause REM sleep issues.
Individuals experiencing REM sleep issues may be waking up multiple times during the night. This can be frightening especially if the individual is not aware of the problem.
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