What is Narcolepsy?
Narcolepsy is a neurological problem affecting the brain’s ability to control sleeping and waking. It usually starts when the person is a teenager or young adult. A person who has narcolepsy will often fall asleep with little to moderate warning throughout the day.

What are Narcolepsy Symptoms?
The most common symptom that people think of when they hear the word narcolepsy is excessive sleepiness. Many people think of narcolepsy as something that makes you suddenly pass out mid-sentence, but that’s not usually the case. People with narcolepsy can usually fight the attack, but it will be really hard; imagine trying to get through work after pulling an all-nighter. Even if a narcoleptic gets enough sleep the night before, the quality of their REM sleep is often disturbed, making trying to stay awake even harder for them. Just like a typical person trying to work on no sleep, a person with narcolepsy will often feel irritable, foggy-headed, exhausted, and sometimes even depressed.
A major narcolepsy symptom that most people have never heard of is cataplexy. A cataplectic episode is a sudden loss of muscle control and strength. Depending on how bad the episode is, the person might have slightly slurred speech, or they might become completely paralyzed and unable to even blink. Some people have even been pronounced dead and taken to the morgue when their cataplexy episode lasted for a long time! Cataplexy usually happens when a person experiences a strong emotion, like laughter or anger.

Other symptoms are paralysis and hallucinations. These are almost always related to falling asleep or waking up, but they can still be extremely scary. When we go into REM sleep, our brain paralyzes our body to keep us from getting out of bed and acting out our dreams (which is a good thing, considering some of the dreams we have!). Because narcolepsy causes so many problems with REM sleep, a narcoleptic may find themselves in an REM state even though they’re partly or completely awake. This state doesn’t usually last more than a few minutes, luckily.

What are Narcolepsy Causes?
Narcolepsy seems to be caused by abnormal brain activity, especially in controlling REM sleep. Scientists also think that narcolepsy is caused by a lack of a substance called hypocretin in the brain. Some people are genetically predisposed to have narcolepsy, while others get it after a brain injury, an infection, or an autoimmune disorder (where the immune system attacks the good cells in the body). Chances are that a combination of a lot of things, not just one specific thing, causes narcolepsy.

What are Narcolepsy Treatments?
The most common treatment for narcolepsy is prescription stimulants. Stimulants, which work similarly to caffeine and ADD/ADHD medicines, help the person stay awake during the day. Sometimes a person may need to try several types of stimulants before finding the right one, but fortunately researchers are constantly trying to develop new drugs. Other drugs help people with narcolepsy sleep better at night, so that they can fight their daytime sleepiness more easily. Doctors often encourage their patients to avoid alcohol and caffeine, and to try to strictly regulate their sleeping and eating patterns so that they’re the same every day.

What are Narcolepsy Cures?
There is no cure yet for narcolepsy. Researchers are working hard to help people suffering from the disorder, so maybe someday there will be a cure. In the mean time, many people are able to function close to normally by regulating their daily schedules and taking prescription medications. Experts have been experimenting with some surgeries, but the results are still mostly random, so for now most people are focusing on improving the prescription drugs.

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