Narcolepsy is a relatively rare sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and a tendency to sleep at inappropriate times. Narcolepsy affects both men and women. The symptoms usually begin during the teen or young adult years. However, it can develop in children, although rarely before the age five, and also later in life.
Most people who suffer from Narcolepsy have low levels of hypocretin, according to the National Institutes of Health. Hypocretin is a chemical in the brain that helps promote wakefulness. Although the factors that cause low hypocretin levels aren’t well understood, researchers think that certain factors may work together to cause a lack of hypocretin. They include:
People with Narcolepsy may experience one or more of these symptoms, ranging from mild to severe, but less than one in three people report having all of the symptoms.
Sufferers may find it difficult to function at school, work, home, and in social situations because of extreme sleepiness. If not recognized and appropriately managed, Narcolepsy can drastically and negatively affect the quality of life.
If you experience any of the symptoms of Narcolepsy and especially if they are impacting your ability to drive, perform you daily activities or interfering with your social activities and personal relationships, see your physician or one of our board certified sleep specialists. You will be diagnosed based on your symptoms, your medical and family histories, and a physical examination and testing. If it is suspected that you have narcolepsy, you may be asked to undergo sleep studies. Two studies, the polysomnogram (PSG) and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), are often performed to confirm the diagnosis of narcolepsy and to determine its severity.
A PSG is taken overnight and measures 16 body signals including: breathing, oxygen levels, heart rate, blood pressure, brain activity, eye movements and muscle movements, and can help determine whether you fall asleep quickly, how soon after falling asleep you enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and how often you wake during the night.The MSLT, a daytime sleep study often done the morning after the PSG, measures how sleepy you are. You will be asked to nap for 20 minutes every two hours throughout the day, and you may nap as many as four or five times. A technician monitors your brain activity and records how quickly it takes you to fall asleep during the day, after a full night’s sleep, and how long it takes to reach the various stages of sleep. Although narcolepsy cannot yet be cured, many of its symptoms may be relieved through medicines, lifestyle changes and other therapies.