Narcolepsy Symptoms and Causes
Narcolepsy is characterized by feeling tired during the day and suddenly falling asleep during everyday activities that one should be awake for. This serious sleep condition is often misdiagnosed. Others may think that the above symptoms are related to laziness or poor sleeping habits, but to the one suffering from it, the symptoms are very real and frightening. This condition is also potentially very dangerous.
This condition usually shows up between the ages of 10 and 25. It will rarely affect those who are over the age of 40.
Extreme tiredness and falling asleep during the day, no matter how much sleep you get at night, are the most noticeable symptoms of this condition. People who suffer from narcolepsy have difficulty focusing on daily tasks due to a constant feeling of being tired. This symptom is troubling enough, but in some cases the sufferer will also have a tendency to suddenly fall asleep, even while performing certain tasks.
This can be very serious and dangerous because it happens with no prior warning. The person has no time to stop doing what they are doing to get prepared. There is no time to remove yourself from a potentially dangerous situation and find a safe place to lie down. This can happen at any time, but can be extremely dangerous when you are driving or in some other situation where concentration is important.
During these attacks, a person might sleep for just a few minutes or up to a half hour. This pattern can repeat itself several times during the course of a day. There is often certain automatic responses that go along with this condition, such as continuing to perform the task they were working on before they fell asleep. Many people do not remember this behavior after waking up from and episode.
Around 75% of narcolepsy sufferers also experience another symptom called cataplexy. This condition involves an inability to control muscles. It could be anything from trouble speaking to a loss of all muscle control. Some will experience this symptom more often than others. Some report rare instances, while others experience it every day. There seems to be some association between this condition and a sudden change in emotions, such as excessive laughing or becoming angry.
Narcolepsy can also show up in the form of paralysis, such as can be seen during REM sleep. The difference is that the paralysis, in this case, takes place either when the person is first falling asleep or just waking up. The frightening thing is that the person is often fully aware of what is happening and can do nothing about it.
Another symptom of narcolepsy is hypnagogic hallucinations. These are very real images that appear to a person while in a semi-awake state. Between one quarter and one half of narcolepsy sufferers will experience this symptom.
There is still much to learn about what actually causes narcolepsy, but it is believed that genetics plays a role. Low levels of a chemical called hypocretin (chemical responsible for controlling sleep awakening) are also thought to be a cause.
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