A rare sleep disorder called narcolepsy has the effect of making people fall asleep at times when it is not wanted. The brain wrongfully fires sleep signals to the body. This can happen at times when sleep is completely not wanted or appropriate. The unpredictable nature of narcolepsy makes it hard to live with. The danger comes into play when someone with the sleep disorder dozes off during driving. Even when you are talking or in the middle of a meal, narcolepsy can strike. This urge can take the body over any time and without warning.
When you have narcolepsy, you may not even realize you are extremely tired or even dozing off. Usually it is the other people in your life who primarily notice you have a problem and urge you to get help from a doctor.
There are five symptoms that are common indicators of narcolepsy. The five main symptoms are insomnia or fragmented sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy and hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis. Depending on the individual, all five symptoms or a combination of them will present itself when someone has narcolepsy.
Regardless of how many symptoms you have of how severe the sleep disorder is, extreme daytime sleepiness is the first symptom to present itself. When you have narcolepsy you just can not fight the sleepiness urge that overtakes you. Some refer to these episodes as sleep attacks. They can usually last from five to ten minutes and happen a couple of times a day.
When you have narcolepsy, it can be difficult to even get asleep at night. You may also suffer with fragmented sleep or insomnia as part of the sleep disorder. Even with all of the daytime sleep, a narcolepsy sufferer does not get to have uninterrupted REM and non-REM sleep patterns.
Roughly half of all narcolepsy sufferers also have to deal with sleep paralysis. Someone with sleep paralysis has the frightening sensation of not being able to talk or move for a few minutes before they actually fall asleep.
There are also short spurts of not being able to control your muscle function with narcolepsy. This symptom is called cataplexy. This can happen in about half of those diagnosed with this sleep disorder. This is the result of improper REM sleep. Strong emotions can actually cause this. Emotions such as laughter and anger can bring it on. It can be difficult to tell anything is happening because the victim seems to be asleep and can not speak, yet they are fully aware of what is going on around them.
One very intense and scary symptom comes in the form of vivid images, real feeling physical sensations, and terrifying sounds. This is called hypnagogic hallucinations. For someone with a sleep disorder such as narcolepsy, this symptom can make it difficult to tell reality from dream land. This often happens in a dream state while someone is in the midst of either falling asleep or waking up. The hallucinations seen can be very intense and terrifying for the person who is unfortunate enough to have them.
Not all symptoms of narcolepsy have this kind of intensity. Some include memory and concentration problems, migraines and blurred vision. Automatic behavior is also one odd side effect of the sleep disorder. Someone will take it upon themselves to do something seemingly routine but in an odd order. For example, they may place a roast in the dishwasher rather than the oven. Thankfully, there are medical professionals to help diagnose and treat narcolepsy. It can prevent you from living a normal life if untreated.
