Narcolepsy - a Sleeping Disorder

Narcolepsy is a kind of sleeping disorder which is the root cause of daytime sleepiness experienced by most of its sufferers. The person experiencing this trouble complains of excessive tiredness or sleepiness and that too at in-appropriate times. This is one of the most critical sleeping disorders faced by people lately.

Symptoms of Narcolepsy: The various symptoms of the narcoleptic sleeping disorder include sleep paralysis, loss of muscle strength, un-controlled daytime sleepiness and many more. Here is a brief discussion on all the above mentioned symptoms of narcolepsy:

Sleep paralysis: Narcoleptics may at times become the victim of sleep paralysis. Due to this trouble, an individual may experience a brief loss of muscle strength. That is usually termed as a momentary paralysis of the body of the person soon after getting awakened or shortly before getting to asleep. Moreover, the person feels highly incapable to utter something or move about.

Loss of Muscle Strength: In medical terminology, this trouble is often referred to as ‘Cataplexy’. The victim of cataplexy may feel extreme weakness or at times paralysed while he or she is in a state of strong emotions like anger, surprise, laughter, fear and many more. This paralytic attack mostly lasts for a certain fraction of time.

Nightmares and Hallucinations: A narcoleptic may also experience an un-realistic perception of a visual sound or an image. These nightmares can be very scary at times because the victim fails to cope with different situations before hand. These situations include anxiety, terror and so on.

Major causes of Narcolepsy: After a lot of studies, physicians have concluded that this particular sleeping disorder is a consequence of hereditary or a genetic disorder. This sleeping disorder is usually related to the central nervous system that is responsible for controlling sleep or at times it is linked with the immune system. It is always recommended that a sufferer should follow the right remedial procedures beginning with the precise diagnosis so as to eliminate this trouble completely.

Treatment Procedure for Narcolepsy: In fact, there is no particular treatment procedure available to cure the narcolepsy sleeping disorder. However, there are certain self-recommended techniques by following which a person can surely overcome his sleeping disorder. They include alterations in the behavioural patterns, sound sleeping habits along with a considerable reduction in the level of stress. Moreover, it is recommended to avoid the consumption of stimulants rich in caffeine and nicotine, especially during evening hours as they tend to alleviate you’re good night sleep. Besides, there are certain medications that help in controlling narcolepsy.

When it comes to behavioural changes, a sufferer of narcolepsy is required to make considerable alterations in his life style patterns. The best strategy is to follow a proper schedule for sleeping and awakening patterns. It is usually recommended that a person should take a proper sleep of at least 8 hours a day.

We can thus conclude that you can surely get over from your sleeping disorder only by recognising its symptoms and taking the appropriate treatment procedures.