REM sleep behavior disorder may be more common than was thought in people with narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is characterized by daytime
sleepiness
and intrusions into wakefulness of REM sleeplike phenomena, including cataplexy and hypnagogic hallucinations.
How is narcolepsy similar to REM?
The temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up usually lasts
only a few seconds or minutes and is similar to REM-induced inhibitions of voluntary muscle activity.
In narcolepsy, REM sleep
is irregular and often begins within minutes after falling asleep
, which is much earlier than normal. REM occurs quickly in people with narcolepsy because of changes in the brain that disrupt how sleep works. These disruptions also cause daytime sleepiness and other symptoms of narcolepsy.
Is narcolepsy associated with REM sleep?
Since the discovery of sleep onset REM periods (SOREMPs) in narcoleptic patients, narcolepsy has often been regarded as a
disorder of REM sleep generation
: REM sleep intrudes in active wake or at sleep onset, resulting in cataplexy, sleep paralysis, or hypnagogic hallucinations.
How is narcolepsy with cataplexy similar to and different from REM sleep?
Some of the characteristics of narcolepsy — such as cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hallucinations — are similar to
changes that occur in REM sleep
, but instead, they occur during wakefulness or drowsiness.
What can narcolepsy be mistaken for?
- Depression.
- Anxiety.
- Other psychologic/psychiatric disorders.
- Insomnia.
- Obstructive sleep apnea.
Attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy may share genetic links, according to an analysis of polygenic risk scores published online in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
What happens if narcolepsy goes untreated?
When left untreated,
narcolepsy can be socially disabling and isolating
. It often leads to the onset of depression. Type 2 diabetes mellitus may occur more often in people with narcolepsy. Making lifestyle changes can help manage the symptoms.
Does narcolepsy affect memory?
Narcolepsy can present challenges to daily living: in addition to sleepiness, people with narcolepsy
may experience mental fogginess, poor memory, and hallucinations
. Social life can be impacted when sleepiness and other symptoms disrupt conversations, social events, and plans for activities.
Is narcolepsy a mental illness?
However, narcolepsy is frequently
misdiagnosed initially as a psychiatric condition
, contributing to the protracted time to accurate diagnosis and treatment. Narcolepsy is a disabling neurodegenerative condition that carries a high risk for development of social and occupational dysfunction.
Does narcolepsy cause weight gain?
People with narcolepsy have been found
to be prone to weight gain even
when they don’t eat more. Low metabolism may be part of the reason. When you have narcolepsy, your body burns calories more slowly. Some researchers have suggested that daytime sleepiness makes people less active, and so more likely to gain weight.
What are the 5 signs of narcolepsy?
- Excessive daytime sleepiness. People with narcolepsy fall asleep without warning, anywhere, anytime. …
- Sudden loss of muscle tone. …
- Sleep paralysis. …
- Changes in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. …
- Hallucinations.
Do narcoleptics sleep well at night?
Do narcoleptics sleep well at night? About half of people with narcolepsy
have trouble sleeping through the night
. You may wake up frequently (fragmented sleep) and have difficulty falling back to sleep.
Does stress affect narcolepsy?
A gene mutation has been identified that causes low levels of hypocretin. It’s believed that this hereditary deficiency, along with an immune system that attacks healthy cells, contributes to narcolepsy. Other factors, such as stress,
exposure
to toxins, and infection, also may play a role.
Can narcolepsy go into remission?
Narcolepsy without cataplexy can be transient, and
patients can enter remission
37
, 38
, whereas narcolepsy with cataplexy typically does not remit (remission of this presentation has been reported only once, in a patient who received immunotherapy soon after disease onset
39
).
What is cataplexy a symptom of?
Cataplexy is a sudden, brief loss of voluntary muscle tone triggered by strong emotions such as laughter. The condition is most commonly associated with
narcolepsy
, a sleep disorder that is thought to affect between 135,000 and 200,000 people in the United States. Cataplexy occurs during waking hours.
