Tag Archives: Narcolepsy Symptoms

Hallucinations

Some individuals with narcolepsy may experience hallucinations that may occur at the beginning or at the end of a sleep period. These are often vivid and frightening. Examples of hallucinations may include hearing a phone ring or a person walking nearby, seeing people or animals that aren’t there, or having an out of body experience….

Disrupted Nighttime Sleep (DNS)

Narcolepsy can also disrupt nighttime sleeping patterns. Affected individuals may frequently awaken during the night and may be wide awake for significant periods during the night. Despite disrupted sleep patterns, the total sleep time for people with narcolepsy in every 24 hour period is generally normal because they sleep repeatedly for short periods during the…

Cataplexy

Many individuals with narcolepsy experience weakness and the sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone (cataplexy). This often occurs during times of intense emotions such as laughter, anger, elation, and/or surprise. Episodes of cataplexy may occur as short periods of partial muscle weakness and can vary in duration and severity. In some cases, a cataplectic attack…

Excessive daytime sleepiness

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is usually the first symptom of narcolepsy. People with narcolepsy typically experience periods of drowsiness, tiredness, lack of energy, an irresistible urge to sleep (“sleep attack”), and/or an inability to resist sleep. This susceptibility to unending drowsiness and/or falling asleep may occur every day but the severity varies from day to…

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder characterized by chronic, excessive attacks of drowsiness during the day, sometimes called excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).Attacks of drowsiness may persist for only a few seconds or several minutes. These episodes vary in frequency from a few incidents to several during a single day. Nighttime (nocturnal) sleep patterns may also be…