Understanding Narcolepsy

Disorder of the Nervous System

Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder of the nervous system caused by the brain not being able to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. It is mainly characterised by overwhelming excessive daytime sleepiness or (EDS) and this is even after a proper nights sleep, although it is not unusual for night time sleep to be broken with frequent awakening. Throughout different times of the day, sufferers feel brief urges to go to sleep. If the urge becomes very strong the person will go to sleep for anything from a couple of seconds to a few minutes. There are some rare cases where people have stayed asleep for an hour or more.

It Can Come Without Warning

Sometimes these daytime naps can be a bit embarrassing because they can occur without warning and quite often in inappropriate places. Although a sufferer of this complaint may feel refreshed from one of the small naps, this may only last for a couple of hours before they start to feel sleepy again.
So far doctors do not know what actually causes this condition, although scientists have found that there are certain things that can increase a persons risk of the disorder. There seems to be a strong link between sufferers of the disorder and certain generic conditions.

Common Symptoms Are:

· Falling asleep without warning
· Temporary paralysis when falling asleep
· Temporary paralysis when just waking up
· Hallucinations when falling asleep
· Hallucinations when just waking up
· A trance like behaviour when carrying out tasks
· Waking up from ones night sleep followed by a quickening of the heart
· Loss of muscle control (cataplexy) during daytime

Narcolepsy is not usually realised in most patients until 10 to 15 years after the first symptoms appear.

How do you treat the disorder?

Although there is not yet a cure for this condition, EDS and cataplexy which are the most disabling symptoms of the disorder, can be brought under control in most patients with various forms of drug treatment.

The recommended treatment for narcolepsy more or less includes a combination of things such as, medication, counselling, and behavioural changes.


What Can I do to Control my Narcolepsy?

There are a few things you could do that may help you, for instance:

Try to avoid having a heavy meal before any important event as it may provoke a sleep attack
Try to exercise most days
Try to do without caffeine, nicotine and alcohol in the late afternoon or evenings
Ensure that you get enough sleep at night. Roughly eight hours is about right for most people
Because strong emotion can provoke symptoms, try to learn to deal with strong emotions.
Try to get into a proper sleep routine of going to bed and getting up the same time every day.
Join a counselling or support group
Make sure you are properly diagnosed so you can receive the proper treatment

Sleep Problem