Some people with narcolepsy experience automatic behavior during brief episodes of narcolepsy. People with narcolepsy may have other sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea - a condition in which breathing starts and stops throughout the night - restless legs syndrome and even insomnia. These hallucinations may be particularly vivid and frightening because you may not be fully asleep when you begin dreaming and you experience your dreams as reality. An example is feeling as if there is a stranger in your bedroom. These hallucinations are called hypnagogic hallucinations if they happen as you fall asleep and hypnopompic hallucinations if they occur upon waking. People with narcolepsy often transition quickly to REM sleep, usually within 15 minutes of falling asleep. REM sleep can occur at any time of the day in people with narcolepsy.
REM sleep is typically when most dreaming happens.
Changes in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Many people without narcolepsy experience some episodes of sleep paralysis. Not everyone with sleep paralysis has narcolepsy, however. This temporary immobility during REM sleep may prevent your body from acting out dream activity. This sleep paralysis mimics the type of temporary paralysis that normally occurs during a period of sleep called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. You may be aware of the condition and have no difficulty recalling it afterward, even if you had no control over what was happening to you. These episodes are usually brief - lasting a few seconds or minutes - but can be frightening. People with narcolepsy often experience a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking. Not everyone with narcolepsy experiences cataplexy. Some people with narcolepsy experience only one or two episodes of cataplexy a year, while others have numerous episodes daily. For example, when you laugh, your head may droop uncontrollably or your knees may suddenly buckle. This condition, called cataplexy (KAT-uh-plek-see), can cause a number of physical changes, from slurred speech to complete weakness of most muscles, and may last up to a few minutes.Ĭataplexy is uncontrollable and is triggered by intense emotions, usually positive ones such as laughter or excitement, but sometimes fear, surprise or anger. Excessive daytime sleepiness usually is the first symptom to appear and is often the most troublesome, making it difficult for you to concentrate and fully function. You may also experience decreased alertness and focus throughout the day. When you awaken, you feel refreshed, but eventually you get sleepy again. For example, you may be working or talking with friends and suddenly you nod off, sleeping for a few minutes up to a half-hour. People with narcolepsy fall asleep without warning, anywhere, anytime. They include:Įxcessive daytime sleepiness. That’s why we are committed to working to better understand the needs of individuals who live everyday with sleep-wake disorders, and we value the opportunity to raise awareness and to talk about the science behind these disorders.The signs and symptoms of narcolepsy may worsen for the first few years and then continue for life. Takeda has been studying these sleep-wake disorders for several years, and we, like other researchers of these same disorders, recognize the potential unmet need for these individuals. Today, Takeda is researching orexin and its role in a broad spectrum of sleep-wake disorders that are characterized by EDS, including narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia and residual EDS in obstructive sleep apnea. The link between orexin peptides and the control of wakefulness and sleep was discovered about 20 years ago – leading orexin to often be considered the master regulator of the sleep-wake cycle. Narcolepsy type 1 has been strongly linked to the loss of neurons in the brain that produce a neurotransmitter called orexin, which is also known as hypocretin. 3 In narcolepsy type 1, individuals also experience cataplexy, which is a sudden loss of muscle tone that’s usually triggered by strong emotions. 1,2 There are two types of narcolepsy – type 1 and 2 – and they share many of the same symptoms including excessive daytime sleepiness or EDS, sleep disruption, sleep attacks, sleep paralysis, and in some cases hallucinations upon falling asleep or waking up. Narcolepsy is a life-long, neurologic condition that is characterized by the brain’s inability to regulate sleep and wake cycles that impacts over 3 million people worldwide. Individuals with sleep-wake disorders such as narcolepsy find their lives dramatically impacted day after day, and night after night. The ability to stay awake is critical for us to live healthy and productive lives.
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