What Is Narcolepsy?

Every now and then, you may hear of or read about someone falling asleep while driving and then getting involved in an accident. There are usually three reasons, the two most popular are 1) they were very tired or 2) they were under the influence of alcohol. The third reason is quite rare but equally or even more dangerous--they are suffering from narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a relatively rare sleep disorder. It causes people to fall asleep when they do not want to and usually at the most inopportune time. This is a neurological disorder wherein the brain sends signals to the body that induce sleep. The signals bring about an overwhelming need to sleep, so it becomes hard to predict when these signals occur.

These sleep inducing signals are often sent when a person is involved in some form of quiet activity, like driving. It sometimes occurs while the person is eating or talking which can be quite embarrassing. Those suffering from narcolepsy do not really realize just how sleepy they are nor how often they fall asleep. So it is often a family member, friend or co-worker that informs them of how they suddenly "passed out".

Symptoms of Narcolepsy

There are five main symptoms:

1. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). This is generally the "warning shot", suggesting that the person is suffering from a disorder. Everyone with narcolepsy has this symptom. There is really a need to sleep so badly that the person is unable to overcome it no matter how hard they try. These sleep attacks can happen several times in a day.
2. Insomnia. It is quite ironic that someone who suddenly falls asleep easily at any time of the day has trouble sleeping at night. Ironic but true, insomnia is a very common symptom among narcoleptics. When they do fall asleep at night they wake up often and do not follow a typical sleep pattern.
3. Sleep paralysis. This symptom occurs just before falling asleep or after waking up. For several minutes, the person with this symptom cannot talk or move.
4. Cataplexy. This is defined as sudden loss of muscle tone and strength, usually caused by an extreme emotional stimulus and is often associated with narcolepsy. However do not confuse it with epilepsy although cataplexy often causes the patient to fall or drop things they are holding. Cataplexy is marked by:
   • buckling of the knees
   • arm weakness
   • dropping of the jaw or the head
   • slurred speech
5. Hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations. A hypnagogic hallucination is experiencing very vivid sounds, images or physical sensations just before the person is falling asleep. Hypnopompic is the same thing except that they occur upon waking up. It is usually difficult for a person with this sleep disorder to distinguish between the dream and reality. These hallucinations often have very dangerous themes. These visual and auditory images may be bizarre or disturbing. Often they are accompanied by sleep paralysis.

There are several methods of treatments for people with narcolepsy and usually it consists of anti-depressants. Pre-planned short naps are helpful in lowering dependence on medicinal treatments, consequently allowing the body to do what it should be doing naturally. Narcoleptics can also be put on a nutritional plan that includes a change in diet, exercise, and taking supplements to give someone added nutrition if they are not getting enough from their usual diet.

Retraining the body to sleep at a reasonable time at night and taking short naps during the day goes a long way in helping narcoleptics stay alert. This lessens the risk they put upon themselves and others when they fall asleep during their normal work day or while driving or operating machinery.