Individuals with narcolepsy may rouse several times each night – perhaps due to vivid dreams or REM sleep behaviour disorder - exacerbating daytime sleepiness.Īside from the classic five signs of narcolepsy, the condition can also lead to a range of additional symptoms, such as memory problems, headaches, depression and automatic behaviour (continuing an activity without having any memory of it afterwards) 10.Įxperts believe there may be several reasons why narcolepsy develops. However, other senses can be involved, too.Īlthough people with narcolepsy can feel extremely fatigued throughout the day, it’s not uncommon for them to experience insomnia and trouble sleeping through the night 9. Often, these hallucinations occur alongside sleep paralysis. Individuals with narcolepsy may also have hypnagogic hallucinations – scary, vivid dream-like experiences during the shift between sleep and wakefulness 8. Frightening hallucinations may also accompany sleep paralysis. The experience is unusual because individuals are conscious and awake but simply cannot connect to move. These episodes usually occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, either when falling asleep or rousing 7.

Sleep paralysis can be another symptom of narcolepsy. The episodes can last anywhere between a few seconds and two minutes. The severity and length of cataplexy attacks can vary: some people will experience mild jaw drooping others, however, may fall to the ground completely. Positive emotions – most notably laughter – and negative emotions – embarrassment, fear, anger, and surprise – are the most likely triggers 6. Those with narcolepsy may also experience cataplexy attacks, characterised by temporary involuntary muscle weakness in response to anticipated emotion 5. Insomnia and night-time disturbances are partly responsible for daytime sleepiness. 4 Excessive daytime sleepiness often compromises productivity, concentration, and short-term memory. Narcolepsy may lead to chronic fatigue and sleepiness and/or falling asleep at inappropriate times during the day.

Most individuals with narcolepsy will generally exhibit a few of the symptoms outlined below: 3 And the sooner the diagnosis, the sooner you can implement the necessary measures to improve the quality of your sleep and wakefulness. But spotting the early signs of narcolepsy can be tremendously helpful in reaching an early diagnosis 2. Since narcolepsy can progress slowly, it often remains undiagnosed for years. Here, we explore the early signs of narcolepsy and available treatment options. While there’s no cure for narcolepsy, it can be greatly improved by making lifestyle changes and using management tools. Characterised by sleep attacks, excessive sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and – for a few – cataplexy (the sudden loss of muscle control), narcolepsy is a rare neurological sleep disorder that affects roughly 1 in 2,000 to 3,000 people 1.

Narcolepsy without cataplexy