
Disrupted sleep: You might have a hard time staying asleep at night because of things like vivid dreams, breathing problems, or body movements.Įxperts don’t know what causes narcolepsy. These episodes usually last a few seconds to several minutes.
Sleep paralysis: You may be unable move or speak while falling asleep or waking up.If they happen when you’re waking up, they’re called hypnopompic hallucinations.
If they happen as you’re falling asleep, they’re called hypnagogic hallucinations. They’re mostly visual, but any of the other senses can be involved. Hallucinations: These delusions can happen at any time and are often vivid and frightening.It’s often triggered by intense emotions such as surprise, laughter, or anger. Cataplexy: This can cause problems ranging from slurred speech to total body collapse, depending on the muscles involved.You have memory lapses and feel depressed or exhausted. The lack of energy can make it hard to concentrate.
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS): In general, EDS makes it harder to do everyday activities, even if you got enough sleep at night. In REM sleep, we can dream and have muscle paralysis, which explains some of the symptoms of narcolepsy. In many cases, narcolepsy isn’t diagnosed and therefore isn’t treated. Type 1 narcolepsy comes with a sudden loss of muscle tone that causes weakness and makes you unable to control your muscles (cataplexy). People with narcolepsy go into REM sleep almost immediately in the sleep cycle and sometimes while they’re awake. In a typical sleep cycle, we enter the early stages of sleep, then the deeper stages, and finally (after about 90 minutes) rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.