Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that affects your ability to wake and sleep. People with
narcolepsy have excessive, uncontrollable daytime sleepiness. They may also suddenly fall asleep at any time, during any type of activity. In a typical sleep cycle, we enter the early stages of sleep, then the deeper stages, and finally (after about 90 minutes) rapid eye movement (REM)
sleep. People with narcolepsy go into REM sleep almost immediately in the sleep cycle and sometimes while they’re awake. Type 1 narcolepsy comes with a sudden loss of muscle tone that causes weakness and makes you unable to control your muscles (cataplexy). Type 2 is narcolepsy without cataplexy. In many cases, narcolepsy isn’t diagnosed and therefore isn’t treated.. In REM sleep, we can
dream and have muscle paralysis, which explains some of the symptoms of narcolepsy. Those symptoms may include: Experts don’t know
what causes narcolepsy. They think it involves multiple things that come together to cause problems in your brain and disturb your REM sleep. Scientists are getting closer to finding genes linked to the disorder. These genes control the production of
chemicals in your brain that may signal sleep and awake cycles. Some experts think narcolepsy may happen because your brain has a hard time making a chemical called hypocretin. They’ve also found problems in parts of the brain involved in controlling REM sleep. Risk factors for narcolepsy include your age. Narcolepsy usually begins between the ages of 15 and 25, but it can show up at any age. If you have a family history of narcolepsy, your risk of getting it is 20 to 40 times higher. Narcolepsy-Related Conditions and BehaviorsSome people with narcolepsy also have related problems, including:
Narcolepsy DiagnosisSymptoms of narcolepsy can look like those of other health problems. Your diagnosis might involve:
Narcolepsy TreatmentThere’s no cure for narcolepsy. But treatments that can help ease your symptoms include:
Which sleep disorder is characterized by sleep attacks?All individuals with narcolepsy have EDS, and it is often the most obvious symptom. EDS is characterized by persistent sleepiness, regardless of how much sleep an individual gets at night. However, sleepiness in narcolepsy is more like a “sleep attack”, where an overwhelming sense of sleepiness comes on quickly.
What Is REM narcolepsy?In narcolepsy, REM sleep is irregular and often begins within minutes after falling asleep, which is much earlier than normal. REM occurs quickly in people with narcolepsy because of changes in the brain that disrupt how sleep works. These disruptions also cause daytime sleepiness and other symptoms of narcolepsy.
What is cataplexy in narcolepsy?Cataplexy is a condition that brings on brief bouts of muscle weakness or paralysis. It can happen in people living with the sleep disorder narcolepsy. Some people have an episode of cataplexy just once or twice in their lives.
Is cataplexy a symptom of narcolepsy?Most people who have narcolepsy also experience cataplexy, which is sudden temporary muscle weakness or loss of muscular control. Typical symptoms of cataplexy are: the jaw dropping. the head slumping down.
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