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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffSymptoms of narcolepsy may worsen for the first few years, and then continue for life. They include:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness. The primary characteristics of narcolepsy are overwhelming drowsiness and an uncontrollable need to sleep during the day. People with narcolepsy fall asleep without warning, anywhere, anytime. For example, you may suddenly nod off while working or talking with friends. You may sleep for a few minutes or up to a half-hour before awakening and feeling refreshed, but eventually you fall asleep again. You also may experience decreased alertness throughout the day. Excessive daytime sleepiness usually is the first symptom to appear and is often the most troublesome, making it difficult for you to concentrate and function fully.
- Sudden loss of muscle tone. This condition, called cataplexy, can cause a number of physical changes, from slurred speech to complete weakness of most muscles, and may last for a few seconds to a few minutes. Cataplexy is uncontrollable and is often triggered by intense emotions, usually positive ones such as laughter or excitement, but sometimes fear, surprise or anger. For example, your head may droop uncontrollably or your knees may suddenly buckle when you laugh. Some people with narcolepsy experience only one or two episodes of cataplexy a year, while others have numerous episodes daily.
- Sleep paralysis. People with narcolepsy often experience a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking. These episodes are usually brief — lasting one or two minutes — but can be frightening. You may be aware of the condition and have no difficulty recalling it afterward, even if you had no control over what was happening to you. This sleep paralysis mimics the type of temporary paralysis that normally occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the period of sleep during which most dreaming occurs. This temporary immobility during REM sleep may prevent your body from acting out dream activity. Not everyone with sleep paralysis has narcolepsy, however. Many people without narcolepsy experience some episodes of sleep paralysis, especially in young adulthood.
- Hallucinations. These hallucinations, called hypnagogic hallucinations, may occur when falling quickly into REM sleep, as you do when you first fall asleep, or upon waking. Because you may be semiawake when you begin dreaming, you experience your dreams as reality, and they may be particularly vivid and frightening.
Other characteristics
People with narcolepsy may have other sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, in which breathing starts and stops throughout the night, restless legs syndrome and even insomnia. People with narcolepsy may also act out their dreams at night by flailing their arms or kicking and screaming.
Some episodes of sleep attacks are brief, lasting seconds. Some people with narcolepsy experience automatic behavior during these brief episodes. For example, you may fall asleep while performing a task you normally perform, such as writing, typing or driving, and you continue to function while asleep. When you awaken, you can't remember what you did, and you probably didn't do it well. For instance, if you were writing, what you wrote asleep may look like scribbling.
The signs and symptoms of narcolepsy can begin anytime up to your 50s, but they most commonly begin between the ages of 10 and 25. Symptoms often are more severe for those who develop them early in life, rather than in adulthood.
When to see a doctor
See your doctor if you experience excessive daytime sleepiness that disrupts your personal or professional life.
- Narcolepsy fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/narcolepsy.htm. Accessed April 8, 2010.
- Scammel T. Diagnosis and neurobiology of narcolepsy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 8, 2010.
- Scammel T. Treatment of narcolepsy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 8, 2010.
- Wise MS, et al. Treatment of narcolepsy and other hypersomnias of central origin. Sleep. 2007;30:1712.
- Narcolepsy. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/nar/nar_all.html. Accessed April 11, 2010.
- Morgenthaler TI, et al. Practice parameters for the treatment of narcolepsy and other hypersomnias of central origin. Sleep. 2007;30:1705.
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