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		Search Text: Narcolepsy
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  Narcolepsy
NarcolepsyNarcolepsy

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What is narcolepsy?

            Student sitting at desk asleep on open notebookNarcolepsy is a chronic (long-term) disorder that causes periods of extreme daytime sleepiness, including sudden brief episodes of deep sleep. People who have narcolepsy usually feel refreshed after a brief nap or a full night’s sleep but become sleepy again soon after.

Narcolepsy can greatly affect your daily life and may be dangerous, as it can make you fall asleep without warning during routine activities, such as eating, working, or driving. There is no cure for narcolepsy, but medicines and healthy lifestyle changes can help you manage the condition.

          
Symptoms

            The most common symptoms of narcolepsy include:

Extreme daytime sleepiness
	Falling asleep without warning, called sleep attacks
	Difficulty focusing or staying awake
	Waking often at nightOther common symptoms that occur when falling asleep or waking up arehallucinationsand sleep paralysis, which is a feeling of being awake but unable to move for several minutes. Rarely, people who have narcolepsy may experience cataplexy, which is a sudden loss of muscle tone leading to weakness and loss of voluntary control over the muscles. It can occur with strong emotions such as laughter, fear, stress, anger, or excitement.

          
Diagnosis

            To diagnose narcolepsy, your healthcare provider will ask about your medical and family history, do a physical exam, and recommend some of the following tests or studies.

An overnight sleep study helps providers understand your sleep cycle.
	A sleep test looks at daytime naps to identify if you sleep well or if your sleep is disturbed for some reason, or if you move quickly into rapid eye movement (REM) sleep phase.
	A spinal fluid test checks your hypocretin levels. Hypocretin is aneurotransmitterthat helps regulate your sleep. If your hypocretin levels are normal, your provider may give you a device called an actigraph to wear for several days or weeks. You wear the actigraph on your wrist like a watch. The actigraph tracks and records your movements and rest periods throughout the day.
	Your provider may also ask you to track your sleep habits in a sleep diary.How Sleep Works can help you understand more about sleep stages and phases.


  Sleep diary
                                BROCHURE
      
                    
                    

                                            
            Sleep Diary

Print and use this sleep diary to record the quality and quantity of your sleep and daytime habits that may affect your sleep. You can then bring the diary with you to review the information with your doctor.
      
                                                                                                                            Download the diary

          
Causes and risk factors

            Narcolepsy is usually caused by low levels of a neurotransmitter called hypocretin that helps you stay awake by keeping your brain from entering a deep state of sleep. Sometimes people have narcolepsy that is not caused by low hypocretin levels. In that case, the reason for the condition may not be known.

Your family history or environment can raise your risk of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy may also occur after an upper airway infection or, rarely, because of a head injury, sarcoidosis, a stroke, or another medical condition.

          
Treatment

            Narcolepsy cannot be cured, but medicine and healthy sleep habits can help improve your sleep and quality of life.

Medicines used to treat narcolepsy include:

Stimulants, or wakefulness-promoting agents, to treat daytime sleepiness
	Depressants such as sodium oxybate to treat daytime sleepiness and cataplexy
	Sedatives to improve nighttime sleepDaytime sleepiness often improves with enough good-quality sleep at night and scheduled naps during the day.


  Cover image of Your Guide to Healthy Sleep
                                BOOKLET
      
                    
                    

                                            
            Your Guide to Healthy Sleep

This booklet provides science-based information about sleep, as well as an overview of certain sleep disorders.
      
                                                                                                                            View the booklet

          
Living with narcolepsy

            Even with treatment, people who have narcolepsy may still have daytime sleepiness and may experience depression.

Talk to your provider about safety issues, including the risk of car accidents. Therapy, education, and counseling may help you manage your symptoms.


  Join a clinical trial

The NHLBI leads and supports many clinical trials on narcolepsy and other sleep disorders. See if you or someone you love is eligible to join a clinical trial.
      
                                                                                                                            Find narcolepsy clinical trials
  Last updated on March 24, 2022 Back To Top Link
  

        

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