A person with narcolepsy is extremely sleepy all the time and, in severe cases, falls asleep involuntarily several times every day. Narcolepsy is caused by a malfunction in a brain structure called the hypothalamus. Mild cases of narcolepsy can be managed with regular naps, while severe cases need medication.
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to control sleep-wake cycles. People with narcolepsy may feel rested after waking, but then feel very sleepy throughout much of the day.
Things that have been suggested as possible triggers of narcolepsy include: hormonal changes, which can occur during puberty or the menopause. major psychological stress. an infection, such as swine flu, or the medicine used to vaccinate against it (Pandemrix)
Not getting enough sleep -- sometimes by choice -- is the most common cause of excessive sleepiness. Working at night and sleeping during the day is another. Other causes include drug, alcohol, or cigarette use, lack of physical activity, obesity, and the use of certain medications.
Excessive daytime sleepiness is usually the first sign of narcolepsy. It can have a significant impact on everyday life. Feeling drowsy throughout the day and struggling to stay awake makes it difficult to concentrate at work or school. People with narcolepsy may be misjudged as being lazy or rude.
There's no specific cure for narcolepsy, but you can manage the symptoms and minimise their impact on your daily life. Making some simple changes to your sleeping habits can sometimes help. If your symptoms are more severe, you'll usually need to take medicine.
Drugs that stimulate the central nervous system are the primary treatment to help people with narcolepsy stay awake during the day. Your health care provider may recommend modafinil (Provigil) or armodafinil (Nuvigil). These medicines aren't as habit-forming as older stimulants.
Hypersomnia means excessive sleepiness. There are many different causes, the most common in our society being inadequate sleep. This may be due to shiftwork, family demands (such as a new baby), study or social life. Other causes include sleep disorders, medication, and medical and psychiatric illnesses.
Narcolepsy is characterized by uncontrollable excessive daytime sleepiness, paroxysmal cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations. It is often misdiagnosed as psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, resulting from the overlap in symptoms and a lack of understanding of narcolepsy.
The incidence of narcolepsy is approximately 1 in 2,000 and most researchers believe that the disorder remains undiagnosed or misdiagnosed in many affected individuals.
(PAYR-uh-SOM-nee-uh) An abnormal disruption of sleep, such as sleep walking, sleep talking, nightmares, bedwetting, sleep apnea (problems with breathing that cause loud snoring), or nighttime seizures.
Identifying Narcolepsy Symptoms Is Important. There are 5 main symptoms of narcolepsy, referred to by the acronym CHESS (Cataplexy, Hallucinations, Excessive daytime sleepiness, Sleep paralysis, Sleep disruption).
Scheduled naps during the day also may help. Pharmacologic treatment of narcolepsy involves the use of central nervous system (CNS) stimulants such as methylphenidate, modafinil, dextroamphetamine sulfate, methamphetamine, and amphetamine, or solriamfetol, a dopamine/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.
Multiple sleep latency test
You'll be asked to take several naps throughout the day, and a specialist will analyse how quickly and easily you fall asleep. If you have narcolepsy, you'll usually fall asleep easily and enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep very quickly.
Why Oversleeping Is Risky. “While consistently getting less than the recommended amount of sleep has been associated with multiple adverse health outcomes, sleeping more than nine hours per night regularly may also be detrimental,” Makekau says. She says oversleeping can lead to: Increased fatigue and low energy.
If you aren't feeling rested when you wake up, despite getting to sleep at least 8 hours prior, then it might not be the quantity of your sleep that's the problem. It could be your sleep quality that needs some attention. The amount of sleep you get is important, but equally important is the quality of that sleep.
Although this condition isn't common, it's widely known because of its symptoms and how they happen. Narcolepsy is usually treatable, but the condition can still cause severe disruptions in your life, ability to work and social relationships.
Narcolepsy can present challenges to daily living: in addition to sleepiness, people with narcolepsy may experience mental fogginess, poor memory, and hallucinations. Social life can be impacted when sleepiness and other symptoms disrupt conversations, social events, and plans for activities.
Researchers currently believe that people are born with a genetic predisposition to develop narcolepsy; eventually, often during childhood or teenage years, a triggering event may cause the onset of narcolepsy.
Jimmy Kimmel has been very open about his struggles with narcolepsy. He told Esquire magazine that he had no idea he had the sleep illness, but “I did know that every afternoon between about three and six, I would get very tired for no reason.
When left untreated, narcolepsy can be socially disabling and isolating. It often leads to the onset of depression. Type 2 diabetes mellitus may occur more often in people with narcolepsy. Making lifestyle changes can help manage the symptoms.
A Sleep Physician
Thorpy, the director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at the Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY, says that he recommends that narcolepsy patients be in bed for a minimum of eight hours each night, have a regular wake-up time, and hold these constant for two weeks.