Cataplexy (Sleep Attacks)Ĭataplexy causes someone to fall asleep without warning.
The severity of sleepiness is comparable to being sleep deprived for 48-72 hours. They may also experience unresponsiveness, decreased alertness, or inactivity despite being well-rested. Narcoleptics may feel sleepy during the day. The symptoms of narcolepsy can worsen for the first few years and then continue for life. Often, narcoleptics are only aware that they have the condition once symptoms have progressed in severity. Narcolepsy makes ordinary tasks such as driving, cooking, or shopping dangerous because it’s impossible to predict future bouts of cataplexy or severe drowsiness. While the symptoms of narcolepsy are brief, lasting only for a few minutes, they can take a toll on self-esteem and mental health. Narcolepsy type 2 occurs without cataplexy, which causes a person to experience severe drowsiness during the day. It is triggered by strong emotion and results in spontaneous sleep, despite the person being well-rested. With narcolepsy type 1, a person suddenly loses muscle control, otherwise known as cataplexy. If one or more people in your family suffer from narcolepsy, you have a 20 to 40 times higher risk of having the same condition. Pediatric narcolepsy can happen in children as young as 4 years old, but symptoms usually occur between 10 to 30 years of age. Research indicates that narcolepsy runs in the family, but most cases are not genetic. People with narcolepsy have less than 110 pg/mL of hypocretin. The normal level of hypocretin in people with normal sleep patterns is above 200 pg/mL. There is no known cause of narcolepsy, although people with narcolepsy type 1 are found to have low levels of hypocretin, a type of chemical in the brain that stimulates wakefulness. Narcolepsy affects 135,000 to 200,000 people in the United States and approximately 3 million people worldwide. Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by extreme drowsiness.Ī narcoleptic experiences overwhelming daytime sleepiness and sudden loss of muscle control, causing them to suddenly fall asleep regardless of the circumstances.
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