Narcolepsy
What are the signs and symptoms of the condition?
Narcolepsy has four classic symptoms:
cataplexy. Cataplexy involves sudden, short episodes of muscle weakness or paralysis. The person usually feels paralyzed or weak during times of strong emotion. Laughter, anger, surprise, anticipation, fear, or even a strenuous exercise workout can trigger the cataplexy.
excessive daytime sleepiness. The person with narcolepsy will feel an irresistible urge to sleep during the day. This sleepiness can last from 30 seconds to 30 minutes. The person can feel these urges to sleep no matter how much sleep he or she has had the night before.
hypnagogic hallucinations. These involve vivid, sometimes frightening dreams that happen as a person is falling asleep.
sleep paralysis. The paralysis can occur when a person is falling asleep or awakening from sleep. Some people feel totally paralyzed, while others experience partial paralysis.
Sometimes a person with narcolepsy will also have symptoms of disturbed nighttime sleep. He or she may toss and turn, jerk about, have nightmares, or wake up a lot. The person may also have automatic behaviors. During the day, he or she may perform familiar and repetitive tasks without being fully aware of them. The person may not remember this behavior afterwards.
The very first symptom to appear is usually the unrelenting, excessive sleepiness during the day. Someone with narcolepsy may have many symptoms or very few symptoms. The development of this disorder and the severity and frequency of the symptoms vary widely.
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