Narcolepsy and Symptoms

The word narcolepsy or narcoleptic often puts and indicator or images of one going to sleep with their face landing in the soup at dinner time. Hollywood has given us some ill perceived ideas or indication about what narcolepsy and symptoms of the disease are. In fact, narcoleptic and symptoms of the disease are not uncommon as studies give us an indication or are an indicator or sign that about 200,000 people in the United States are narcoleptic.

Severe Narcolepsy is a condition where one instantly falls to sleep during the day – no matter what they are doing. This is the form of narcolepsy that Hollywood has portrayed in the past. However, research gives us indication that narcoleptic people do not always fall asleep. In most cases, they just experience feelings of being drowsy or sleepless throughout the day – without actually falling asleep. They are simply drowsy. In fact, being sleepless or drowsy is generally a sign or indicator of Narcolepsy.

Only about ten percent of all known cases of Narcolepsy are severe. When these people fall asleep, they may sleep about fifteen minutes to an hour. After waking, they will fall asleep again within an hour or two. Ironically, narcoleptics often experience insomnia at night, or wake up several times throughout the night. This leads to sleep deprivation and them being drowsy. Many people don’t realize that narcoleptics often have sleepless nights! In fact, sleepy days and sleepless nights are actually an indicator or an indication of narcolepsy.

A symptom or sign of severe Narcolepsy is Cataplexy, which is the sudden and temporary loss of muscle strength in the body. This causes a person to collapse. However, this sign or incident of Cataplexy may be mild causing the person to only feel weak for a little while. An episode of Cataplexy rarely lasts for more than half an hour, but it is a clear symptom of Narcolepsy.

See Also: Drooling During Sleep

About The Author:
Andrew Thomas is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.sleep-disorders-help.com.