What is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a nervous system disease related to hypersomnia as one of the types of sleep disorders.

It is one of the sleep disorders which is characterized by excessive and sudden falling asleep. The most common symptom is the suddenness of your urge to sleep and the inability to control it, even if it’s daytime. Unfortunately, it is a lifetime problem, as there’s no cure for it. But physicians found a special treatment that might help to ease your state. 

Who is at risk? It is a rare illness but it is still useful to know what people can be in more danger of. 

• Those who have family members with sleep disorders.
• Reduced orexin content in cerebrospinal fluid.
• Young people (especially males) from the age of 10 to 25.

This illness can be rightfully regarded as a rare one. Only 3M people are struggling with it worldwide and 200,000 of these cases are in the USA. The trick with this disorder is that only 25% of all people struggling with it, received some kind of medical treatment. And because only a quarter received some kind of treatment, there must be a lot more people who didn’t even get their diagnosis. Probably that is the explanation for why the statistics are so low. Most people are simply unaware of their condition. But why is it so hard to diagnose narcolepsy? The group of various sleep disorders is probably one of the hardest groups of illnesses to diagnose and treat. 

We are all familiar with general notions and symptoms of sleep disorders, i.e. if it’s insomnia — difficulties falling asleep, etc. But when we face these symptoms ourselves we tend to overlook them. To know how to deal with any disease it is important to understand the causes of its occurrence. That will improve the further results of diagnostic tests and treatment. 

Narcolepsy Types and Their Stages  

There are 2 types of narcolepsy, which are divided due to one significant symptom — cataplexy or loss of muscle function. 

• Type 1 is narcolepsy that is accompanied by cataplexy.
• Type 2 is narcolepsy which is not accompanied by cataplexy.

Now let’s try to understand how narcolepsy affects you and what are its specifics. Understanding the mechanisms of its occurrence and progress might facilitate its diagnosis. Moreover, it will make it easier for you to define that your troubles with sleep are not so ordinary.

How does it affect sleep?

Generally, people without any sleep disorders experience 4 stages of sleep. Three of them belong to the NREM stage and only the last one is REM. NREM stages or stages of non-rapid eye movement are generally the transitional stages of your sleep when you are still conscious. REM is deep sleep. Here we are to explain more about stages:

• Progressing into NREM sleep. The first stage is when you have only got into the bed.  It is a period of wakefulness and sleep. Usually, it takes from 10-15 minutes to fall asleep.

• NREM sleep stage 2. The next stage involves your body preparing itself for sleep. That’s when your temperature drops, and your heartbeat slows down. Lasts about 20 minutes.

• NREM stage 3. The final stage of preparing your body for deep sleep. That’s when the muscles relax, blood pressure and breathing rate drops down. 

• REM sleep. Is the deepest stage of sleep. In this stage you see dreams and your eyes move rapidly. 

A person with narcolepsy doesn’t go through all the stages but immediately transits to the final stage. The main sign of it is falling into REM sleep immediately and suddenly, even while doing something. 

Symptoms of Narcolepsy

• EDS or excessive daytime sleepiness
  
• Cataplexy or loss of muscle function.
  
• Hallucinations.
  
• Paralysis during sleep.
  
• Disrupted sleep.

Several basic symptoms are regarded as the ‘red’ signs of having narcolepsy:

EDS or excessive daytime sleepiness. When you suddenly fall asleep at any time but especially during the day, it is the most obvious sign of narcolepsy. Generally, having EDS complicates your life, as it directly disturbs you during your daytime activities. Unfortunately, it happens regardless of whether you sleeping at night.

Cataplexy or loss of muscle function. Common symptoms, especially for narcolepsy of the 1st type. Sometimes people with narcolepsy admit that for a long period they experienced sudden muscle weakness, before falling asleep. That’s one of the reasons why narcolepsy is so rare to be diagnosed at the beginning. Most people regard their sudden weakness and urge to sleep, as simple fatigue. 

Hallucinations. Hallucinations may occur at any time a day to you. They are usually very vivid and bright. These visions also can happen to you before falling asleep. Visions of this kind are called hypnagogic. And visions that appear straight after your awakening are called hypnopompic.

Paralysis during sleep. Also, one of the most common symptoms of narcolepsy. It usually occurs when you fall asleep or during sleep, and results in the full inability to move or speak. Commonly lasts a few minutes.

Disrupted sleep. Unfortunately, also quite a common signal of narcolepsy is caused by unstable breathing rate, disrupted REM sleep or uncontrollable body movements. 

Causes of Narcolepsy

• Loss of neurons;
  
• genetics;
  
• heredity;
  
• traumatic brain injury;
  
• infections;
  
• hormonal changes;
  
• stress, strong emotions.

Physicians haven’t yet defined the exact reasons for its happening. It is known that this pathology occurs due to the occurrence of orexin (a brain neurotransmitter) that is responsible for wakefulness. But they have determined 2 possible causes:

Loss of neurons. The most common reason for this disorder is the loss of orexin-releasing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus. Orexin is a neuropeptide that is responsible for the processes of arousal, wakefulness, and appetite. This is not only a common cause but also a mechanism that accompanies this illness.

Genetics. The most obvious reason for sleep disorders’ occurrence is heritage. Researches show that if one of your family members struggled with this disease, the chances of you getting it are 20 to 40 times higher. It is strongly related to certain variations of chromosome 6 area or human leukocyte antigen. Though the mutations of HLA are not a mandatory cause for narcolepsy happening, sometimes they are found in people without narcolepsy. 

There are also a number of factors contributing to the development of narcolepsy:

• heredity;
• traumatic brain injury;
• infections;
• hormonal changes;
• stress, strong emotions.

 If you suspect the symptoms of this disease, you should see a doctor. Contact us to avoid complications.

FAQs

• Can I get rid of narcolepsy naturally?

No, unfortunately, no. There are plenty of different recommendations but we would advise you to ask for professional help.

• Does caffeine help narcolepsy?

Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are usually fully excluded if you have narcolepsy. But in small doses caffeine can help.

• How does a person get narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy usually occurs as a genetic disease or as the result of orexin deficiency. Usually, the lack of orexin is also the genetic outcome.

• Can narcolepsy go away?

No, unfortunately, it is a lifetime problem, as there’s no cure for it. But physicians found a special treatment that might help to ease your state. 

• Who is at risk of Narcolepsy? 

1. Those who have family members with sleep disorders. 
2. Reduced orexin content in cerebrospinal fluid.
3. Young people (especially males) from the age of 10 to 25.