Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia. The condition is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in which a person experiences extreme fatigue and possibly falls asleep at inappropriate times, such as while at work or at school.People with narcolepsy experience excessive daytime sleepiness and intermittent, uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep during the daytime. These sudden sleep attacks may occur during any type of activity at any time of the day. This neurological disorder that affects the control of sleep and wakefulness is often confused with insomnia. When a person with narcolepsy falls asleep or goes to bed they will generally experience the REM stage of sleep (rapid eye movement/dreaming state), within 10 minutes; whereas for most people, this shouldn't occur until generally 30 minutes of slumber.
The cause of narcolepsy is not known; however, scientists have made progress toward identifying genes strongly associated with the disorder. These genes control the production of chemicals in the brain that may signal sleep and awake cycles.
The person with narcolepsy may experience very different symptoms and sometimes the only symptom they can report on is extreme daytime tiredness, which may make it hard to diagnose narcolepsy.
Other narcolepsy symptoms include:
