Narcolepsy and Its Symptoms

Narcolepsy is an uncommon neurological disorder. The patients of this neurological disease feels dire urge to sleep during day.

This urge comes quite often for these people in such overwhelming manner that they felt sleepy for a small period lasting from a few seconds to several minutes.

The real reason behind this physical discrepancy is yet not discovered. Currently, the researchers opine that certain genetic factors triggered by environment initiate the induction of this problem where brain chemicals are badly affected causes narcolepsy disorder.

In many instances, it has been observed that in case of post-brain infection, brain tumors, or head the problem of narcolepsy is induced in the patients. But it is obvious that narcolepsy can never be treated as the result of due to lack of sleep or insomnia.

It is neither a fatal disorder nor is a dangerous complication unless the affected patient suffers from a sudden attack of this problem while he is driving a car or in the move while on train or in bus. In certain case, if it is not dangerous, it may prove embarrassing and inconvenient for social and professional life. However, there is no specific cure for this disease; this disease is to be treated by the intensity of the symptoms.

There are four typical symptoms for narcolepsy: sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, cataplexy, and sleep attacks. A person affected with narcolepsy should suffer from all these four symptoms or any of these typical traits of symptoms.

Sleep attack is one of the major symptoms for narcolepsy. In this symptom the affected patients suffer from unpredictable sleeping spell, which may last from a few seconds for few minutes, or for few hours.

Hypnagogic hallucinations are other dominant symptoms of narcolepsy. In this symptom the affected patient observes some imaginary things in reality, illusions can be of auditory or visual or combination of both.

Sleep paralysis is the imparity to talk or to act after a sleep session and it lasts hardly for a few minutes. However, this symptom persists for a few moments but those who suffer from this disorder not necessary to be the patient of narcolepsy.

Cataplexy is the cease of force or voice in one height of emotional outburst. Often only arms and legs in the body are affected in the response of loss of muscle tone. Sometimes this symptom is initiated on the sudden jerks or surprised patients.