Informative Speech On Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder that occurs during the adolescence stage. It is peculiar as it causes the afflicted person to develop a spontaneous sleep cycle during the day. This disorder prompts “sleep attacks” to occur, and can even be accompanied by cataplexy, random muscle failure or really just REM sleep paralysis (Zimbardo, Johnson, Weber,2008, p.109). It can be dangerous as the attacks can be triggered at any time by intense feelings of emotion or a lack of stimulation. This means that in cases such as driving, sexual intercourse, and times of extreme happiness a narcoleptic person could just fall straight into REM sleep (Zimbardo, Johnson, Weber,2008,

In his article “Narcolepsy,” Jerome M. Siegel discusses the disease and its possible causes. To begin with, Siegel defines the symptoms and problems associated with the disease. Moreover, he states what exactly the disease is, his research into its causes and effects on the nervous system, and the possibility that the narcolepsy may be an autoimmune disease.

Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder that affects 1 in about 2,000 people in the United States. Many people are unaware that they have this disorder, and it goes undiagnosed. Narcolepsy affects your sleeping pattern, including irregular patterns in your Rapid Eye Movement (REM), and significant disruptions in your normal sleep/wake cycle. There is no cure for this disorder, but it is treatable. We also don’t know what causes it.

Firstly, what is narcolepsy? Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that effects your central nervous system that does not allow the person to have a regulated sleep cycle. A regular person normally has a 90 minute sleep cycle, while a narcoleptic goes straight into REM sleep. Since they go straight into REM sleep, the brain does not have a chance to recover from its constant activities. A narcoleptics

Thesis/Central Idea: Sleep deprivation can lead to serious health problems, forgetting important information, and will have a negative impact on the outlook of life.

Starting off on the disability details of epilepsy and narcolepsy. First, the definition of epilepsy is when your brain has recurring seizures (Haugen 42). The definition of narcolepsy is when you start hallucinating (Brayer 85).Some symptoms of narcolepsy are sleep paralysis, excessive daytime sleepiness (Brayer 30), and mental confusion (“Facts”). Staring off into space, measles, poor diet, illegal drugs, stress, alcohol, and

The cause for this disorder is still unknown, however, it is believed that it could be triggered by

Sleep paralysis is a common condition with a prevalence of 5-62%, although most affected people have single or infrequent episodes (Dahlitz). Occasionally sleep paralysis is found to run in a family, and it can be associated with other disorders of hypersomnia, such as sleep apnea (Becker 81). Narcolepsy has also been linked with sleep paralysis; both are thought to be REM sleep disorders (Siegel). Gender and race do not seem to be a factor of risk for this disorder. The episodes of sleep paralysis seem to range from ages 5-35 (Dahlitz). The use of anxiolytic medicines, psychiatric disorders and high anxiety can also contribute to sleep paralysis (Larkin).

Some possible triggers or contributing factors are: brain injury, environmental factors, alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy. There have also been a number of “mythical causes” that have been ruled out. Some of these are: bad parenting (although a dysfunctional home can exacerbate symptoms), too much or too little sugar, artificial sweeteners, allergies and lack of vitamins. Scientific research does not currently support any of these indicated potential causal factors (nimh.nih.gov)

The average human spends about 25 years of their life sleeping. That is equal to one-third of a person’s life. So if sleep is vital and common among every single human, what do you know about it? What happens when we sleep (Attention Grabber)? Before the 1950s, scientists believed that the brain would just “shut off” when we would go to sleep. It wasn’t until the discovery of the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) state that scientists really looked into what happens in the brain while we are asleep. Studies have found that we go through a cycle of stages during sleep, and it is important for our health (Orientation to Topic). Today, I am going to inform you about what really happens when we sleep, and some issues that are found among it (Specific Purpose). In order to really understand this worldwide commonality, you need to know some background on sleep, the stages in the cycle, and some common disorders (Central Idea). I have taken a year long psychology course that went into depth on sleep psychology, and I have done extensive research on the topic to better grasp it (Statement of Credibility). I want to inform you on sleep so you can understand what happens when you close your eyes every night, and so you can detect any irregularities in your sleep pattern (Statement of Goodwill). First, I will give a background of why and how we know to sleep, then I will explain the stages in the sleep cycle, and finally I will tell you about some common disorders (Preview).

If you are not thinking that about things doing or have a hint that it can happen at any time, if it’s a family thing then there might be a cure or a remedy to control the sleepiness that may happen at any time. Getting the right information from your doctor and seeing what can be done to prevent this from happening in the future is the first approach to Narcolepsy.

cause for many years is a chemical imbalance in the brain. This could be an

Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, the audience will understand what insomnia is, what

In addition to alertness and mental performance, caffeine may also improve memory and reasoning in sleep-deprived people.

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about the long term effects of lack of sleep