Sleep disorder
What is narcolepsy?
Narcolepsy is a condition in which excessive daytime sleepiness causes a person to fall asleep at inappropriate times. Severe sleepiness persists during the day even after a full night's sleep, and sleep attacks may occur in which the person falls asleep suddenly, as though a switch had been turned off.
Symptoms
- 1
- Excessive daytime sleepiness: irresistible drowsiness during the day despite enough sleep at night, and falling asleep even in inappropriate situations.
- 2
- Cataplexy: a sudden loss of muscle strength during emotional changes (laughter, surprise, anger), ranging from mild weakness to full-body paralysis.
- 3
- Sleep paralysis: the muscles are temporarily paralyzed when falling asleep or waking, making movement and speech impossible, sometimes with a feeling of suffocation.
- 4
- Hypnagogic hallucinations: vivid hallucinations (visual, auditory, tactile) occur when falling asleep or waking, and may cause fear
- 5
- Automatic behavior: routine actions continue even while drowsy, but are not remembered afterwards.
- 6
- Night-time sleep disturbance: besides daytime sleepiness, patients often find it hard to sleep deeply at night as well.
Causes
Narcolepsy is caused by an abnormality of the central nervous system that regulates sleep and wakefulness; hypocretin deficiency and genetic factors are known to be the main causes.
Diagnosis and examination
Narcolepsy is diagnosed with polysomnography (PSG), which assesses night-time sleep, and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), which measures daytime sleepiness.
Normally REM sleep appears 80~90 minutes after falling asleep, but patients with narcolepsy characteristically enter REM sleep within 15 minutes.
Genetic testing can also be used as a supplementary diagnostic method.
Methods of treatment
Behavioral therapy
Drug therapy
Treatment of comorbid sleep disorders
At the St. Peter's Hospital Epilepsy & Sleep Center, we help our patients sleep well through accurate diagnosis and tailored treatment.
If narcolepsy is troubling you, please consult our specialists.
Appointment with Dr. Hong, Seung Bong, Epilepsy & Sleep Center
