what exactly is narcolepsy?
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Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder (it affects the brain) that makes it difficult or close to impossible for someone to control their sleep cycle during hours of wakefulness. A person with narcolepsy is not able to regulate their sleep cycle normally caused by a premature entrance into the REM stage of sleep.
the sleep cycle:
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The sleep cycle is made up of two different types of sleep. The first type of sleep is called NREM sleep, which stands for non-rapid eye movement. The second type of sleep is called REM sleep, which stands for rapid eye movement. During REM sleep, we usually experience dreams. There are four stages of the sleep cycle.
NREM SLEEPSTAGE 1: The heart rate slows, muscles relax and body temperature lowers. Light sleep.
STAGE 2: Muscles continue to relax, body temperatures continue to lower, and the immune system begins to repair damage to regenerate. Deep sleep. STAGE 3: Metabolic levels slow. Delta/Slow-wave sleep. |
REM SLEEPSTAGE 4: Occurs (in the average person) 90-100 minutes after light sleep. Eyes begin to move rapidly back and forth, sleep paralysis ensues, and brain activity increases. Dreams occur. Delta/Slow-wave sleep.
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what's different about the sleep cycle when it comes to narcolepsy?
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When someone has narcolepsy, they reach REM sleep prematurely. This means that they miss the critical stage three, where the body regenerates. This can cause major problems and leads to many of the extreme symptoms of narcolepsy.
SYMPTOMS OF NARCOLEPSY:
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EDS (Excessive Daytime Sleepiness): This is the most common symptom of narcolepsy. 70% of all people diagnosed with narcolepsy experience this symptom. Someone who experiences EDS is prone to short memory lapses due to involuntary sleep episodes, extreme exhaustion, depression, or an inability to focus.
Sleep Paralysis: Sleep paralysis is the temporary inability to move or speak when falling asleep or waking. It can happen in someone without narcolepsy who sleeps normally, but it often goes unnoticed because it is experienced while transitioning into REM sleep.
Cataplexy: Cataplexy is defined as "a sudden loss of muscle tone that leads to feelings of weakness and loss of voluntary muscle control." Cataplexy is responsible for one of the most familiar aspects of narcolepsy: the emotional trigger. Cataplectic episodes can sometimes result from an emotional trigger such as laughter, fear, anger, or excitement.
Hallucinations: There are two types of hallucinations associated with narcolepsy and sleep disorders in general: hypnopompic and hypnagogic. Hypnopompic hallucinations occur during waking and hypnagogic hallucinations occur during the onset of sleep.
Disrupted Nocturnal Sleep: Most narcolepsy patients experience disrupted nocturnal sleep. Sleep can be disrupted by insomnia, vivid dreaming, sleep talking, sleep walking, or periodic leg movements.
Obesity: Though not a well known sign, some narcolepsy patients suddenly gain weight after developing narcolepsy. If narcolepsy is properly treated, this "side-effect" can be avoided.
Automatic Behavior: This is technically a side effect of EDS. When a person is extremely exhausted they may fall asleep while doing a mundane task (such as typing), and continue to complete this task while they are "microsleeping" (sleeping for a short period of time). Automatic behaviors are obviously hard to detect, because a person who is sleeping appears to be functioning normally.
Sleep Paralysis: Sleep paralysis is the temporary inability to move or speak when falling asleep or waking. It can happen in someone without narcolepsy who sleeps normally, but it often goes unnoticed because it is experienced while transitioning into REM sleep.
Cataplexy: Cataplexy is defined as "a sudden loss of muscle tone that leads to feelings of weakness and loss of voluntary muscle control." Cataplexy is responsible for one of the most familiar aspects of narcolepsy: the emotional trigger. Cataplectic episodes can sometimes result from an emotional trigger such as laughter, fear, anger, or excitement.
Hallucinations: There are two types of hallucinations associated with narcolepsy and sleep disorders in general: hypnopompic and hypnagogic. Hypnopompic hallucinations occur during waking and hypnagogic hallucinations occur during the onset of sleep.
Disrupted Nocturnal Sleep: Most narcolepsy patients experience disrupted nocturnal sleep. Sleep can be disrupted by insomnia, vivid dreaming, sleep talking, sleep walking, or periodic leg movements.
Obesity: Though not a well known sign, some narcolepsy patients suddenly gain weight after developing narcolepsy. If narcolepsy is properly treated, this "side-effect" can be avoided.
Automatic Behavior: This is technically a side effect of EDS. When a person is extremely exhausted they may fall asleep while doing a mundane task (such as typing), and continue to complete this task while they are "microsleeping" (sleeping for a short period of time). Automatic behaviors are obviously hard to detect, because a person who is sleeping appears to be functioning normally.