Narcolepsy is a long-term neurological disorder that affects your quality of sleep. It can interrupt with wakefulness and control of sleep causing daytime drowsiness. People with narcolepsy disorder may find it difficult to stay awake for long periods during day time. Severe cases of narcolepsy can interfere with your normal routine. Narcolepsy is not related to depression, fainting or lack of sleep but it is a sleep disorder that causes sudden spells of sleep, irrespective of circumstances.
Some people may fall asleep suddenly during any time of the day and they would not have control over it. They go to sleep even during work-time while doing any activity or urgent task. Narcolepsy cannot be cured and often it is chronic. Medications and lifestyle modifications can help you overcome daytime sleepiness.
Causes :
Narcolepsy is believed to be caused by genetic factors. Certain genes are responsible for managing the release of chemicals in the brain that induces sleep. Low level of hypocretin (neuro chemical) in the brain can cause narcolepsy disorder. Certain abnormalities in the brain can affect the normal sleeping pattern. Under normal conditions, people fall asleep with NREM pattern during which there will not be rapid eye movement.
This is followed by deep sleep and finally it ends with REM (rapid eye movement) phase. It is during this phase, one would get dreams and makes muscle movement. However, people with narcolepsy would directly go into REM sleep without having NREM stage. This process occurs at any time of the day or night.