What is narcolepsy like

Rather than having consolidated sleep at night like most people, sleep time in people with narcolepsy often adds up from short periods of sleep throughout the day and the night. When narcolepsy begins in childhood or adolescence, it often begins with excessive daytime sleepiness. This increased tiredness may result in sleep times that are longer than usual, called hypersomnia, as well as a return to daytime napping typically seen in infants and toddlers.

While narcolepsy is a chronic, lifelong condition, symptoms do not typically worsen as a person grows older. Research has demonstrated that patients with narcolepsy are at an increased risk for several medical conditions. People with narcolepsy face an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes. One reason for the increased prevalence of these conditions in people with narcolepsy may be the multiple roles orexins play in the body.

In addition to causing issues in maintaining sleep-wake cycles, a loss of orexin-producing neurons can also affect physical activity and weight gain, nighttime blood pressure, and the buildup of plaque in the arteries — all potential causes of heart disease. Narcolepsy is also associated with psychiatric disorders , including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD , anxiety, eating disorders, depression, and schizophrenia.

Researchers hypothesize that lifestyle changes and impairment caused by the symptoms of narcolepsy may lead to the development of psychiatric disorders, or that both narcolepsy and psychiatric disorders share similar causes. Rob writes about the intersection of sleep and mental health and previously worked at the National Cancer Institute.

Rehman, M. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness EDS , which can cause significant health consequences for children, teens,…. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies.

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Anis Rehman. What Causes Narcolepsy Symptoms? Related Reading. Sign up below for your free gift. Your privacy is important to us. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Anis Rehman Endocrinologist MD. Mahoney, C. The neurobiological basis of narcolepsy. Nature reviews Neuroscience, 20 2 , 83— Brown, R. Control of sleep and wakefulness. Physiological Reviews, 92 3 , — Thannickal, T.

Reduced number of hypocretin neurons in human narcolepsy. Neuron, 27 3 , — Loachimescu, O. BMJ Best Practice. National Organization for Rare Disorders. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Darien, IL.

Mamelak M. In its severe form, cataplexy can cause weakness of the face, limbs, and trunk, leading an individual to slump to the ground, awake but unable to talk or move for up to one or two minutes.

More commonly, the episodes are less severe and may simply cause some slurred speech, and weakness in the face, neck, or arms. These milder episodes are known as partial cataplexy. In contrast to fainting or falling asleep, consciousness is fully preserved during cataplexy.

With longer episodes, which are rare, some people can have dream-like hallucinations. Quite often, episodes of cataplexy are triggered by positive emotions associated with heartfelt laughter, joking, or getting a sudden surprise such as unexpectedly seeing a friend 2. Less commonly, cataplexy can occur with negative emotions such as intense frustration or anger.

These triggers vary among people, and individuals with narcolepsy often come to recognize the conditions most likely to bring about their episodes. In younger children, cataplexy is often triggered by positive emotions, such as feelings of excitement while playing a video game.

The characteristics of cataplexy can be different in children. In addition to the transient muscle weakness that can occur, mild weakness can last for hours, with a slack face, half-closed eyes, and a wobbly, unsteady gait 3. For unclear reasons, some children may slightly stick out their tongue during an episode.

Hallucinations and vivid dreams Many people with narcolepsy have dream-like hallucinations just as they are falling asleep or waking up. Hallucinations when falling asleep are known as hypnagogic ; when waking up, hypnopompic. These hallucinations can be quite vivid and may be frightening, such as a sense of a threatening stranger or dangerous animal in the room.

Upon waking, it can take a few minutes to shake off the fear and appreciate that it was just a hallucination. Most likely, these hallucinations are rapid-eye-movement REM sleep-like dreams occurring when an individual is only half-awake. Similarly, many people with narcolepsy have very vivid and intense dreams and nightmares while sleeping. In fact, some dreams are so lifelike that it can be hard to tell them from reality. I fell asleep in most large classes and began asking friends to take notes for me.

My grades were still poor, and I was unable to return to school after two years as I did not meet their standards for grade point average. I was told to find another school or join the army. After college I fell in love, got married and began my first full-time job as an engineering technician.

It turned out to be a perfect fit for me. In the winter I worked in a lab by myself, and in the summer I sat out on construction sites testing soil compaction and sleeping in my car, where I could take cat naps all day long. My next job was learning to design and program computers. I had my own office and could take my cat naps as needed. I was called into Human Resources and told I was on day notice to ship up or find another job. Thank God I had a relative in upper management, who I am sure saved my bacon.

After a few years, management realized that my ability to program and design systems was more valuable than my daily sleepiness. At age 25 I experienced three minor auto accidents. At that point I realized that I needed to see a doctor and find out what was going on before I drove into a telephone pole and killed myself or another person. Following the test, I was diagnosed with narcolepsy. In very little was known about narcolepsy, and doctors estimated that about , people in the United States had it.

In the early s, my life took a huge turn. I was offered a position with a large company in upstate New York, where I felt that an experience like this meant future success for my programming and computer design career. For the next 12 years I worked many hours of overtime, created numerous systems for a Fortune company, and had little if any concern with my sleeping problems at work.

My managers were very pleased with my work and assumed my sleeping habits were due to the long hours I was putting in. I still had to be aware of my sleepiness, and on numerous occasions I would have to pull over and take a nap even in the minute ride home. After leaving that company, I took another very big risk and joined a software company as a consultant. This meant that my daily sleepiness was going to be under scrutiny at every company I consulted with.