Understanding Narcolepsy

Do you feel that you want to sleep even during the day? Is your sleep disturbed by nightmares? When you have these symptoms and you feel tired even after sleeping for a good amount of time, then you may be suffering from Narcolepsy. This is a chronic neurology condition which has the symptom of excessive day time sleepiness. When you think you suffer from narcolepsy, it does not mean that you need to sleep a lot more than others, but instead you are not actually able to maintain the balance between sleep and wake times.

Many people fail to understand this condition. Narcolepsy is considered an outcome of laziness, and a few think that day time sleep is not an issue to worry about. This is a serious disorder you need to be concerned about. You do not get the quality night time sleep, because you tend to fall asleep during the day time. You are at a risk of losing opportunities for education or even lose your job. You tend to move off from the social behavior. This might even trigger accidents.

Narcolepsy can occur in anybody, and it does not discriminate the affected based on sex, age and ethnicity. Though one can find genetic component associated, it is not because of hereditary one suffers from this disorder, always. The patients tend to get the symptoms from the age of 10 to 25, but that does not restrict the symptoms occurring in a later stage. In many patients, the symptoms increase as age advances, but for a few, the symptoms become less frequent. However, they do not disappear wholly.

The symptoms of narcolepsy vary from one patient to another. For a few it may occur at nights, and for a few at days.

Find the symptoms that occur during day and night.

Symptoms that occur during daytime are

Sleep attacks or excessive sleepiness
Cataplexy, which is a sudden loss of muscle or tone
Automatic behavior- this is a case where patients fall asleep even when they are awake. At such times, they perform all routines activities, but do not remember it later.

Nighttime Symptoms:

Disrupted nighttime sleep. This is the case where patients lose entire night’s sleep and keep awake.
Sleep paralysis- the patient is conscious but cannot move, or speak.
Hallucinations- disturbing nightmares, which can be connected with voice, touch, smell and images frighten the patients. They more often occur at the same time of sleep paralysis.

Though no complete information is found on narcolepsy’s occurrence, problems in brain chemistry are found to be responsible. The hypocretins, which are responsible for many brain functions, including the sleep wake cycle, when go down the required level, narcolepsy occurs. Speak to your doctor and check if you have narcolepsy.

Medications can help you and you should also follow the points below mentioned,

Get up and sleep at the same time everyday.
Use your bed to sleep only.
Get relaxed before you go to bed.
Do not take coffee, tea and alcohol after late hours in the day
Do not expose to bright lights before you go to bed
Do regular exercises.