Essay On Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a mental disorder that affects the control of sleep and sleeplessness. People with narcolepsy experience exorbitant daytime sleepiness and infrequent, uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep during the daytime. These sudden sleep attacks may occur during different kinds of activity at any time of the day. A person sleep for a couples of minutes or up to a half-hour before awakening, but eventually they fall asleep again.They can also experience decreased alertness throughout the day. According to the Narcolepsy network, this illness impacts 1 in approximately 2,000 people in the United States. A person can develop narcolepsy at any age, however is common between 10-30 years of age. The causes of this illness is still unknown even though researchers have found some genes that are associated …show more content…
Excessive daytime sleepiness is the first symptom to appear and is the most troublesome, making it difficult to concentrate and fully function. People with narcolepsy experience a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking. Not everyone with narcolepsy has. sleep paralysis. Another symptom is cataplexy, can cause some physical changes, from slurred speech to complete weakness of muscles. According to mayo clinic cataplexy is uncontrollable and is triggered by intense emotions, usually positive ones such as laughter or excitement, but sometimes fear, surprise or anger. Some people with narcolepsy experience only one or two episodes of cataplexy a year, while others have numerous episodes daily. Not everyone with narcolepsy experiences cataplexy. People with narcolepsy may have other sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea,some episodes of sleep attacks are brief, lasting seconds. Some people fall asleep while performing a task you normally perform, such as writing, typing or