Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder that affects the area of a person’s brain that helps to regulate their sleeping habits. More specifically it is the area of the brain that tells the body when to sleep and when to stay awake. This disorder effects one out of every two thousand people and can be very hard to diagnose. Many scientists and doctors believe that Narcolepsy is a genetic disorder that can be controlled by certain lifestyle changes combined with medication.
There are a variety of symptoms a person experiences when they have Narcolepsy. The first signs of Narcolepsy symptoms are experienced when a person is between the ages of ten and twenty five years of age. These Narcolepsy symptoms include:
Cataplexy – Cataplexy is when a person loses control of their muscles. People who suffer from Narcolepsy will experience a sudden loss of their muscle control during the hours they are awake. This can be triggered by the experience of strong emotions such as laughing very hard, crying or even intense concentration.
Sleep Paralysis – A person who has Narcolepsy may experience sleep paralysis. This is the inability to do actions such as move or talk when they first fall asleep and at the end of their sleeping period.
Hallucinations – A Narcoleptic patient often times suffer from hallucinations which include experiencing vivid and frightening visual or auditory sensations that can occur when a person is falling asleep or when they first wake up.
Nighttime wakefulness – Narcolepsy can cause people to experience periods throughout the night where they suffer from bouts of wakefulness accompanied by hot flashes, intense alertness and even an elevated heart beat.
Micro sleep – Often times a person who has Narcolepsy will have bouts of micro sleep. These are episodes that can occur in which the person experiences very brief amounts of sleep while they are still performing various functions and continuing activities such as talking, putting items away, eating and one of the most scariest activities which is driving. The narcoleptic person will then wake up and have no memory of doing the activity that they just performed.
Rapid entry into REM sleep – A person who is suffering from Narcolepsy have symptoms of unique sleep cycles. While most people do not enter into the REM sleep state until about ninety minutes into their sleep cycle, a Narcoleptic person will enter the REM state shortly after falling asleep. The REM sleep state is when a person experiences dreaming and muscle paralysis. This can occur in a Narcoleptic person even during bouts of sleep that occur throughout daytime hours.
While Narcoleptic patients can experience any of these symptoms the two most common Narcolepsy symptoms that are reported include experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness combined with cataplexy. These symptoms seem to show a strong connection with a person’s emotional state that they may be in. Intense emotions like sadness, frustration, surprise or even laughter seem to be the most common trigger for these symptoms to occur.
It is very important for someone who is suffering from these Narcolepsy symptoms to consult the help of a doctor or trained medical professional since the result of these symptoms can be very harmful. This is especially true for a person who operates machinery, is driving or who is the sole responsible party for the well being of others who require the Narcoleptic patient to be alert and aware.
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