What Is Narcolepsy?
How Will Narcolepsy Impact Your Life?
What is narcolepsy? It’s a good question
and one which many people struggling with sleep problems have
wondered. Unfortunately, narcolepsy is difficult to diagnose properly
but once a diagnosis has been made, it can be managed and does
not present any serious physical threat.
Narcolepsy is one of a range of sleep
disorders, neurological in origin and involving discrepancies
in the normal sleep pattern. Patients who are narcoleptic
tend to fall into REM sleep, the deepest part of the regular sleep
cycle, quickly and sometimes without warning. This can
happen both at night and, more disturbingly, during the daytime
hours.
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Ali Farid |
For those who have asked what is narcolepsy, the answer is a
difficult one to pinpoint. The causes of narcolepsy are
not known. It is believed that chemical imbalances in
the brain can lead to these extraordinary disruptions of sleep
but nothing has been clinically proven. What we do know is that
narcolepsy can begin to manifest itself at any age, though it
is most common among teens and young adults.
Because narcolepsy can involve a range of symptoms
and can actually encompass other conditions, it is difficult to
properly diagnose. In order to thoroughly gauge one’s regular
sleep cycle and determine what, if any, problems there are with
it, a series of specialized tests are required. These tests are
usually conducted at a sleep disorders clinic under carefully
monitored conditions.
When asking what is narcolepsy, it is important to consider
the main symptoms of the disorder. Although symptoms
will vary from person to person, there are several main symptoms
which generally characterize narcolepsy. The most prominent is
excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). Individuals
with narcolepsy will likely never feel fully rested, even if they
sleep through the night. They can experience lack of energy, exhaustion,
and depression as a result of the constant feeling of sleepiness.
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that affects both day
and night sleep patterns. During normal waking hours
those suffering from narcolepsy will find themselves feeling the
strong, sometimes irrresistable urge to sleep and may do so at
inappropriate times and places.
Narcoleptics may also find that their normal nighttime sleep
is disrupted with frequent waking as well and may even develop
insomnia.
Narcolepsy appears to be related to a problem with how
the sleep cycles are activated. Those without narcolepsy
will slowly fall asleep and pass from the non-REM (rapid eye movement)
sleep through to deeper levels of sleep later when most REM sleep
occurs. During these periods is when others experience dreams
and REM atonia occurs. REM atonia is what prevents our muscles
from responding to movements when we are engaged in our dreams.
However, in the case of narcoleptics the REM state can
be entered into very quickly and REM atonia can happen at inappropriate
times. When this happens the body can exhibit muscle
weakness or slackening from smaller localized areas such as facial
muscles or complete muscle weakness throughout the body. This
is called cataplexy (sometimes referred
to as a "sleep attack")
and can even occur during wakeful states and is generally triggered
by strong emotions including laughing, being surprised or even
sneezing.
In addition to cataplexy, narcoleptics can also suffer
from other sleep disorders that arise from the out-of-sequence
sleep patterns. Sleep paralysis, hynagogic hallucinations (very
intense dreams that occur during the periods of falling asleep
and waking) and automatic behavior wherein a sufferer may engage
in activities or even conversations while in a sleep state and
have no conscious recollection later.
Once you have successfully answered the question what
is narcolepsy, it is possible to consider treatment.
While there is no known cure for narcolepsy, there are some medications,
including anti-depressants and stimulants, which can be used to
control some of the more disturbing symptoms such as cataplexy.
Otherwise, patients are encouraged to limit natural stimulants
like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol from their regular routine.
Narcolepsy is a complicated and often misunderstood condition,
but it does not have to become all encompassing. It is
possible to manage symptoms and live a full, rich life.
The key is learning as much as you can about it and making sure
you discuss any disturbances in your sleep pattern with your doctor.
Sleep is more important than you realize, so don’t let narcolepsy
ruin yours.
Related Articles:
What Is a Sleep Attack?
Understanding Cataplexy
Return from What Is Narcolepsy?
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