What Is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is the nervous system abnormality in which the person can fall asleep anywhere and at any time. A patient of narcolepsy has no control over this and hence may have to face dangerous outcomes.

Narcolepsy has been found to be a hereditary disorder in many cases. Sudden injury to brain which has disturbed some nerves may also cause narcolepsy. Coming in contact with too many pesticides may harm the brain. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of those autoimmune disorders that may lead to the sleeping disorder.

Signs and Symptoms

The most characteristic symptom of narcolepsy is cataplexy. In this, the patient has no control over actions of their muscles. Experiencing microsleeps is also common. During these episodes the person may sleep for brief periods and continue doing some action like talking, etc. When they wake up they have no memory of the episode. Hot flashes in night and wakefulness are common with patients of narcolepsy. Hallucinations, increased heart rate during night are common.

REM is the phase during sleep which lets one to dream. Normally, a person takes 90 minutes to enter into the REM phase but narcoleptics directly enter this phase as soon as they fall asleep.

Narcolepsy can seriously affect lifestyle of a person. Since the person has no control over their muscle actions they may get into very dangerous situations while driving, cooking or by simply being alone. Untreated narcolepsy or delay in treatment can actually lead to severe depression in some patients.

Decreased sex drive can greatly effect marital relations. They may have trouble remembering things and have less attentiveness hence cannot be efficient at work place. In social cycle, many people may not be able to understand the seriousness of this condition and can actually assume that one is being rude and acting lazy.

Many times narcoleptic patients go undiagnosed. Even minor symptoms are ignored. Some of the early symptoms may appear during adolescence but by the time it reaches peak it is too late for treatment.

Precautions

Narcoleptics must never be left alone. Proper treatment must be given long with consultation with a psychiatrist. Narcoleptics feel mentally less strong and become unconfident due to their problem. Behavior with them must be polite.