Have you ever fallen asleep and woke not remembering how you feel asleep or when?
This is a feeling that Narcoleptics feel most of the time. Just Imagine Being on a dinner date and you are having a great time with your date laughing and talking, three seconds later your face is in your onion soup! This is a very real possibility if you are suffering from Narcolepsy.
Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that is chronic. It affects the portion of the brain that helps regulate sleep. More commonly triggered by emotions such as sadness, frustration and even surprised. Even laughter can trigger a narcoleptic to fall out sleep.
Narcolepsy has often been often confused with depression and Epilepsy. There have been cases were Narcolepsy has been undiagnosed or mis-diagnosed because the most common and most time the only symptom a person may experience is excessive daytime sleepiness. Which daytime sleepiness can be an indicator of a lot of conditions.
The more common of Narcolepsy symptoms are Cataplexy (loss of muscle control) most often triggered by crying or laughter. Hallucinations ar...
Another major symptom that affects narcoleptics is called hypnagogic hallucinations, which they experience when they are falling asleep. These hallucinations can in...
Millions of people suffer from the same tossing and turning every which way, getting their sheets all disarranged and their minds abundantly worse. Patients often report indications of insomnia while sitting in the family health clinic. Insomnia traits include hindrance, falling asleep, continuing to awaken, and rejuvenating before wanted. One may suffer from insomnia if one shows signs of an increased difficulty in attentiveness, decreased communal or scholastic skills, and a diminished mood or enthusiasm. Foldvary-Schaefer 111.
Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that affects the control of sleep and wakefulness. This disorder causes a number of symptoms that will be discussed further in depth later on but they are, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), cataplexy, hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. Scientists and researchers believe that the cause of narcolepsy is a genetic mutation. This disorder can cause severe disruption to a person's daily life and routine and can be a cause of harm to the person with the disorder as well as those around him/her. There have been case studies and animal research and testing to further understand this disorder its cause and possible cures or medication. Which as of 2014 there is medication to help those with the disorder but there is no cure. To better understand this disorder we have to go more in depth on the topics I have touched on and more in depth on the disorder in general. We will be investigating all the above mentioned topics and more.
While he did not use the word "narcolepsy," he wrote about patients experiencing "a sleepy disposition who suddenly fall fast asleep” (White). After nearly two centuries, two German doctors named Westphal and Fisher studied patients who would randomly fall asleep. These patients also experienced other symptoms such as dream-like hallucinations while they were awake and "automatic behavior," which caused them to perform daily tasks while they were still asleep (White). The symptoms they studied long ago are the symptoms of narcolepsy that we now know today. Westphal was the first doctor who clinically described narcolepsy as a physical disorder due to loss of muscle control. The term “narcolepsy” was first discovered in 1880 by Jean Baptiste E. Gelineau, a neuropsychiatrist in France, who recognized a group of patients who had irresistible sleep triggered by strong emotions (Khran, 2001). To create the name of this sleep disorder, he combined the Greek words, narke (numbness, stupor) and lepsis (an attack, seizure). In 1902, the term “cataplexy”, was created by a physician named Loëwenfeld. Then finally in 1957, Mayo clinic doctors Robert Yoss and David Daly officially united the four classic narcolepsy symptoms (White). The four symptoms are what add up to make narcolepsy a unique sleeping
Sleep disorders are a very serious problem for a lot of people. It affects a lot of people 's lives, requiring them to have to live a very different life than the average person. The five most commonly known sleep disorders are insomnia, sleep apnea, sleepwalking, and narcolepsy. Sleep insomnia is when you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep even when you have a chance to do so. Sleep apnea is when you have trouble breathing when you’re asleep. Sleepwalking is when you’re in a deep sleep and you start to walk around or perform some kind of complex behavior. People that are affected by these disorders have a very hard time either getting to sleep or staying asleep. I will be explaining what all of these disorders are and how they affect
Additional symptoms include disturbed nocturnal sleep and automatic behavior (patients carry out certain actions without conscious awareness). All of the symptoms of narcolepsy may be present in various combinations and degrees of severity.
THESIS STATEMENT: Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that has a specific medical definition, life-changing symptoms, and there are ways in how people treat it.
What Is Narcolepsy? - NHLBI, NIH. N.p., 01 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .
Some withdrawn patients are highly susceptible to suggestion and will obey commands or imitate actions, a condition known as echopraxia, or mimic phrases, also known as echolalia. Ordinarily, patients in a catatonic stupor will refuse to comply with even the slightest request and pay no attention to bowel or bladder control. Facial expressions are typically vacant, and skin texture appears waxy.
Arousal disorders are the most common type of parasomnia. These disorders include: confusional arousals, sleepwalking, sleep terrors and nightmares. Experts believe that each is related and share some symptoms. Essentially, they occur because a person is in a mixed state of being both asleep and awake, generally coming from the deepest stage of non-dreaming sleep. The individual is awake enough to act out complex behaviors, but asleep enough not to be aware of or remember them.
Family history of sleepwalking was confirmed in 80% of individuals with sleepwalking disorder and is ten times more likely to occur than in the general public(Kale, 1987). Sleepwalking episodes can be triggered by fevers, which directly affect the nervous system (Gilles, 2003). Alcohol use, sleep deprivation, pregnancy, menstruation, hormonal changes in adolescents and intense stress can also trigger episodes of sleepwalking (Gilles, 2003). Some medications have also been known to trigger sleepwalking episodes in individuals such as anti-anxiety or sleep inducing drugs, anti seizure medications, anti-arrhythmic heart medication (Gilles, 2003). Drugs used to treat psychosis (neuroleptics), increase sleep or relaxation (hypnotics), or treat allergies (antihistamines) can also trigger sleep walking episodes in individuals (Gilles & Cataldo & Atkins, 2012). Other medical conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux, night seizures, night asthma, night arrhythmia, and psychiatric disorders, such as panic attacks, can increase the likelihood of sleepwalking (Gilles & Cataldo & Atkins,
Did you ever awaken and find yourself unable to move? Perhaps you sensed a presence in your room or a pressure on your chest. This is sleep paralysis. It is a common disorder that affects millions of people. Most believe it occurs as we are on the edge of REM sleep. The disorder has been connected with such hallucinogenic events such as alien abduction or an evil presence. Sleep paralysis is an inability to move or speak, occasionally accompanied by hallucinations, for up to several minutes upon awakening or just before falling asleep.
Sleepiness is a biological function that is defined as the increase in the tendency to sleep. Excessive sleepiness is the abnormal increase in the likelihood of dozing off, falling asleep or having sleep attacks at times when the sleep is not desired. Excessive sleepiness is a condition that is characterized by persistent sleepiness and regularly a lack of energy even during the day after outwardly adequate or prolonged nighttime sleep. This condition is referred to as hypersomnia. Hypersomnia interferes with the daily activities of the victims. People who have hypersomnia always feel sleepy during the day. More so they tend to sleep longer than usual at night. This condition is also referred to as Somnolence or prolonged drowsiness. It is
Sleep is a very important factor in the human function. Our body and brain is able to reset itself and rejuvenate while we sleep. When we do not get the required amount of sleep, we start to feel lethargic and foggy minded, because our mind and body wasn’t able to replenish itself. Sleep is imperative that an insignificant rest deficiency or lack of sleep can affect our ability to remember things; decisions and can affect our temperament. Chronic sleep deficiency can get the body to feel agitated and it could lead to serious health problems such as, heart problems, stress, acne, and obesity.
Sleep disorders are conditions that effect the ability to sleep well on a regular basis. They can be caused by health problems or by too much stress. More than 75% of Americans are effected by sleep disorders between the ages of 20 to 59. Depending on the type of sleep disorder people may have a hard time falling asleep or may feel extremely tired throughout the day. In some cases, sleep disorders can be a sign of another medical or mental health condition, but can go away if treated. If sleep disorders are untreated they can have a heavy toll on the human body.