Narcolepsy - What Are The Signs and Symptoms Of Narcolepsy?

Here are some of the things to know about narcolepsy, a chronic sleep disorder.

NARCOLEPSY – These are the causes, signs, and symptoms of narcolepsy, a chronic sleep disorder, and a long-term neurological condition.

Sleep is very essential to keep both the physical and mental health in a healthy state. However, there’s this sleep disorder, a chronic one, that’s existing and it’s called narcolepsy.

This chronic sleep disorder is a long-term neurological condition characterized by severe and persistent sleepiness at any time of the day and during any work that the person does. This condition may disturb one’s usual routine may it be in school, work, and other social settings.

And due to uncontrolled sleepiness, one may suffer from serious accidents and injuries. This is rare but it has affected many people – both adults and children.

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition said that this disorder has two types: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 or once called “narcolepsy with cataplexy”.
Type 2 or the type without cataplexy

Cataplexy is the sudden loss of muscle control.

Sleep Foundation listed down these symptoms:

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) or the irresistible urge to sleep.
Automatic behaviors because the person affected is trying to avoid the feeling of sleepiness.
Disrupted nighttime sleep
Sleep paralysis
Hallucinations related to sleep
Cataplexy

This specific condition has no cure but one can manage the symptoms through medications and lifestyle changes. Certain conditions may also trigger this such as hormonal changes, major psychological stress, and infection.

One’s age and family history are some of the risk factors.

The exact cause of this is still unknown but experts have found that Type 1have low levels of the chemical hypocretin.