The Life of a Narcoleptic
Remember when I blogged about the sleep stages? If you could recall, there are 5 stages and the last is the non-REM sleep and the last stage is the REM deep sleep. Narcoleptics have this special problematic skill of jumping from a waking state to REM sleep. This uncontrollably happens at inappropriate times and places.
Aside from excessive daytime sleepiness or drowsiness, other characteristics unique to their condition are cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations and automatic behavior. Cataplexy is the loss of muscle function which varies from slight weakness to total body collapse. Experts say that extreme emotions like anger, surprise, or laughter can trigger this.
Sleep paralysis is an equally debilitating symptom. It is the inability to walk or talk upon waking.
Automatic behavior on the otherhand, is a more common symptom where a person continues to function and do some routinary activities (talking and fixing things) while asleep. Since a person is asleep, he or she is not aware of the activities that he/ she did while sleeping.
Finally, hypnagogic hallucinations are vivid, usually frightening, dreamlike experiences that occur while dozing, falling asleep and/or while awakening.
In addition to this, there may also be disturbed nocturnal sleep, blurred vision, double vision, and droopy eyelids.
It must be a continuous struggle for them as the excessive daytime sleepiness is said to persist throughout the lifetime, but as far the 4 types of symptoms are concerned, hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis may not persist. Only 20-25% of the people may not. All other symptoms may be present in various combinations and level of severity.
After having known all these, I realized that while being an insomniac is hard, being narcoleptic must be harder. Our only similarity is the lack of control over these major disruptions in sleep and regaining control seems to be a continuous struggle. So for those who don’t have problems with their sleep, try to maintain that normal sleep pattern because you wouldn’t realize the value of sleep until you whole life is ruined by either the lack of too much of it.
Be sure to check out the Home Study Course for even more tips on sleeping!
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