What happens during a narcoleptic episode?

People with narcolepsy often experience a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking. These episodes are usually brief — lasting a few seconds or minutes — but can be frightening.

What does a narcoleptic episode feel like?

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder that affects your ability to get good quality sleep. Because of the condition, you will feel excessively sleepy or tired during the daytime even with a full night's sleep.

How long does a narcoleptic episode last?

Attacks often last from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. You remain aware during the attack. During the attack, your head falls forward, your jaw drops, and your knees may buckle. In severe cases, you may fall and stay paralyzed for as long as several minutes.

What triggers a narcoleptic episode?

It is often triggered by sudden, strong emotions such as laughter, fear, anger, stress, or excitement. The symptoms of cataplexy may appear weeks or even years after the onset of EDS. Some people may only have one or two attacks in a lifetime, while others may experience many attacks a day.

What is your brain doing during narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a neurological (nervous system) disorder that affects the brain's ability to control sleep and wakefulness. If you have narcolepsy, you experience excessive daytime sleepiness and may have uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep during the daytime.

What are the 5 signs of narcolepsy?

There are 5 main symptoms of narcolepsy, referred to by the acronym CHESS (Cataplexy, Hallucinations, Excessive daytime sleepiness, Sleep paralysis, Sleep disruption). While all patients with narcolepsy experience excessive daytime sleepiness, they may not experience all 5 symptoms.

How do you stay awake with narcolepsy?

Many people with narcolepsy sleep restlessly at night.
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Rest Best at Night

1. Relax before turning in. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime.
2. Try to go to bed at the same time each night.
3. If you wake up during the night, avoid reaching for your phone or other electronics. Screens stimulate, not relax, you.

What does cataplexy feel like?

Cataplexy is sudden muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions like embarrassment, laughter, surprise, or anger. Cataplexy can cause your head to drop, your face to droop, your jaw to weaken, or your knees to give way. Attacks can also affect your whole body and cause you to fall down.

How long do narcoleptics sleep?

A person with narcolepsy usually has the condition for life. All people with narcolepsy have extreme levels of sleepiness during the day, but how this shows itself can differ. For instance, some people with narcolepsy might fall asleep for 10 to 20 minutes several times every day, whether they want to or not.

Can you fight a narcolepsy episode?

Although there is no cure for narcolepsy, some of the symptoms can be treated with medicines and lifestyle changes. When cataplexy is present, the loss of hypocretin is believed to be irreversible and lifelong. Excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy can be controlled in most individuals with medications.

Is cataplexy a seizure?

Cataplexy occurs during waking hours. During a mild attack, there may be a barely visible weakness in a muscle, such as drooping of the eyelids. A more severe episode may involve a total body collapse. Although it is a different condition, cataplexy is sometimes misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder.

Are you born with narcolepsy?

The exact cause of narcolepsy is unknown. People with type 1 narcolepsy have low levels of the chemical hypocretin (hi-poe-KREE-tin). Hypocretin is an important neurochemical in your brain that helps regulate wakefulness and REM sleep. Hypocretin levels are particularly low in those who experience cataplexy.

Do periods make narcolepsy worse?

In women, the severity of narcolepsy may be affected by the menstrual cycle. Narcolepsy or the predisposition for the condition may run in families, although the way in which it may be inherited is not completely clear.

Do you dream with narcolepsy?

Most likely, these hallucinations are rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep-like dreams occurring when an individual is only half-awake. Similarly, many people with narcolepsy have very vivid and intense dreams and nightmares while sleeping.

Is it narcolepsy or am I just tired?

What are the Symptoms of Narcolepsy? The most obvious narcolepsy symptom is excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) which refers to an inability to stay alert during normal daytime hours. The individual feels persistently sleepy, no matter how much sleep he or she gets at night.

How does cataplexy differ from narcolepsy?

Clinicians now recognize two major types of narcolepsy: narcolepsy with cataplexy (muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions) and narcolepsy without cataplexy. People who have narcolepsy without cataplexy have sleepiness but no emotionally triggered muscle weakness, and generally have less severe symptoms.

What causes narcolepsy without cataplexy?

Narcolepsy is not the only reason people might experience intense sleepiness during the daytime. Some other conditions that may mimic narcolepsy without cataplexy include: inadequate sleep. shift work sleep disorder.

What causes catalepsy?

Catalepsy involves a loss of voluntary motion, muscle rigidity, fixed posture, and decreased sensitivity to pain. It is a symptom of a number of conditions including epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, substance use, catatonia, schizophrenia, and as a side effect of some types of medication used to treat schizophrenia.

What is a hypocretin?

Hypocretin (also known as orexin) is a neuropeptide hormone produced in the hypothalamus that exerts important influences over sleep, arousal, appetite and energy expenditure. Defective hypocretin signalling is associated with narcolepsy.

What is EDS in narcolepsy?

The inability to stay awake and alert during the day, resulting in periods of an irrepressible need for sleep or unintended lapses into drowsiness or sleep. Excessive daytime sleepiness is the cardinal symptom of narcolepsy.

Can you lose weight with narcolepsy?

Several studies found no difference between the BMIs of people who were on either type of narcolepsy medication and those who weren't. The narcolepsy drugs pitolisant (Wakix), and sodium oxybate (Xyrem) have been shown to cause weight loss.

Does caffeine help narcolepsy?

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a small dose of caffeine has positive effects on alertness in patients with narcolepsy.

What foods help narcolepsy?

Research is limited, but some people with narcolepsy say their symptoms improve when they follow a ketogenic (or keto) diet, which is a restrictive, low-carbohydrate, high-fat, moderate-protein diet. “There's some clinical data from small studies of low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet in people with narcolepsy,” Li says.

What are the warning signs of narcolepsy?

Symptoms can include: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS): This is the primary symptom of narcolepsy. You may have sudden urges to fall asleep, even if you have had a full night's sleep. Hallucinations: Some narcolepsy patients experience very real hallucinations while sleeping.

How do they test for narcolepsy?

The diagnosis of narcolepsy is usually supported by test results from a polysomnogram and the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT). A polysomnogram helps your physician assess brain activity during sleep, in particular, how frequently and when REM activity is occurring.