Our Research Sleep Disorders Information Narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a lifelong central nervous system disorder of maintaining any state or stage of sleep or wake. The patient sleeps poorly at night, suffering instrusions of wakefulness. Additionally, during the day, the patient is likely to experience intrusions of sleep into wakefulness. If the intrusion is REM sleep, the patient experiences hallucinations, physical collapse, and sleep paralysis.
Treatment is generally pharmacologic.
There are documented genetic factors to this disorder.