Narcolepsy Essay

Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder that occurs during the adolescence stage. It is peculiar as it causes the afflicted person to develop a spontaneous sleep cycle during the day. This disorder prompts “sleep attacks” to occur, and can even be accompanied by cataplexy, random muscle failure or really just REM sleep paralysis (Zimbardo, Johnson, Weber,2008, p.109). It can be dangerous as the attacks can be triggered at any time by intense feelings of emotion or a lack of stimulation. This means that in cases such as driving, sexual intercourse, and times of extreme happiness a narcoleptic person could just fall straight into REM sleep (Zimbardo, Johnson, Weber,2008,

In his article “Narcolepsy,” Jerome M. Siegel discusses the disease and its possible causes. To begin with, Siegel defines the symptoms and problems associated with the disease. Moreover, he states what exactly the disease is, his research into its causes and effects on the nervous system, and the possibility that the narcolepsy may be an autoimmune disease.

The websites chosen to research was Medline Plus, Genetics Home Reference and National Institutes of Health. The topic researched was narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder that affects 1 in about 2,000 people in the United States. Many people are unaware that they have this disorder, and it goes undiagnosed. Narcolepsy affects your sleeping pattern, including irregular patterns in your Rapid Eye Movement (REM), and significant disruptions in your normal sleep/wake cycle. There is no cure for this disorder, but it is treatable. We also don’t know what causes it.

Such patients endure a long list of sleep issues including insomnia, alpha wave intrusions, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), narcolepsy, and restless leg syndrome.

Narcolepsy is a uncommon sleep disorder characterized for excessive daytime sleepiness and significant daily dysfunction. Daily periods of irresistible need to fall asleep during times when individual is supposed to be awake, as driving or at work, that may result in an accident. Patients with narcolepsy must of the times suffer from insomnia caused by sleep fragmentation this is why is imperative for narcolepsy to be diagnosed and treated.

Firstly, what is narcolepsy? Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that effects your central nervous system that does not allow the person to have a regulated sleep cycle. A regular person normally has a 90 minute sleep cycle, while a narcoleptic goes straight into REM sleep. Since they go straight into REM sleep, the brain does not have a chance to recover from its constant activities. A narcoleptics

For many people, becoming tired in the middle of the afternoon isn’t unusual. However, for those who suffer from narcolepsy, it is a difficult struggle to stay awake all day, everyday. It is estimated that approximately 40,000 to 135,000 people in the United States have narcolepsy. (Narcolepsy, 2002) This number has such a wide-range because there are many people who have narcolepsy but don’t know it while others are often misdiagnosed. Although there are medications for people with narcolepsy, the medications do not prevent all of their symptoms from occurring. Scientists have performed many studies, but still do not know the actual cause of narcolepsy,

Narcolepsy is thought to be caused by neurotransmitter abnormalities, specifically low levels of hypocretin and/or histamine. There appears to be a genetic factor associated with the disease -- those who have first degree relatives with narcolepsy are 10 to 40% more likely to develop the disease. Also, current research shows strong evidence of an

Parasomnia refers to a wide variety of disruptive, sleep-related events or, "disorders of arousal." These behaviors and experiences occur usually while sleeping, and most are often infrequent and mild. They may however happen often enough to become so bothersome that medical attention should be sought out. "Parasomnias are disorders characterized by abnormal behavior or physiological events occurring in association with sleep stages, or sleep-wake transitions."(DSM pg. 435)

Sleep paralysis is a common condition with a prevalence of 5-62%, although most affected people have single or infrequent episodes (Dahlitz). Occasionally sleep paralysis is found to run in a family, and it can be associated with other disorders of hypersomnia, such as sleep apnea (Becker 81). Narcolepsy has also been linked with sleep paralysis; both are thought to be REM sleep disorders (Siegel). Gender and race do not seem to be a factor of risk for this disorder. The episodes of sleep paralysis seem to range from ages 5-35 (Dahlitz). The use of anxiolytic medicines, psychiatric disorders and high anxiety can also contribute to sleep paralysis (Larkin).

Narcolepsy is a chronic brain disorder that causes a person to fall asleep at any time of the day. It also affects a person’s sleep habits at night. They tend to wake more often during nighttime sleep. A normal person sleeps for about 8 hours and enters non-rapid eye movement sleep, and then transitions into rapid eye movement sleep. A narcoleptic person enters rapid eye movement sleep within a few minutes of falling asleep. Narcolepsy can occur during daily activities such as when a person is driving, talking, playing a game, eating, or at work or school. Narcolepsy is caused by low levels of the neurotransmitter hypocretin. A person is diagnosed with narcolepsy with a clinical examination and exhaustive medical history. There is not a cure

Recent research has proven that children just are not getting the sleep they need these days. Kids today seem to be doing poorer in school and have less attention spans. Most parents are not aware of a common problem effecting thousands of children in this country: sleep disorders. Parents often fail to follow there children's sleeping patterns which can result in some serious side effects if that child has a sleep disorder. A study done at Tulane University in New Orleans studied about 300 first graders that preformed poorly in school. They found that 18 per cent showed signs of a sleeping problem. The percentage of children with bad grades found to have sleeping problems

Sleep disorders alter ones sleep pattern and often results in the inability to either sleep or sleep soundly. They often cause you to feel restless, tired, fatigued, and irritable. It is estimated that nearly 75 percent of adult Americans experience sleep disorder symptoms at least a few nights per week. At the same time, sleep disturbances in some form are seen in as many as 25 to 30 percent of infants and children (“Sleep Disorders” 2013). Clearly a huge conundrum in the world, sleep disorders affect an inordinate amount of people. Millions of people suffer or have suffered from a sleep disorder at one point in their lives and if mistreated can impact organ systems functioning negatively. Physical disturbances, medical issues,

A few of the articles that were used in studying this disorder agreed that sleeping more at night could help those people lose weight. One article that was used said that sleeping pills and tranquilizers could increase a person’s risk of death, (#4, 2010) while another article used in this research said that prescription pills could be used to prevent insomnia. (MediLexicon, Intl., 2012) With the research that is currently being put towards this disorder, researchers should start to agree more on insomnia and ways to prevent or cure it.