Narcolepsy Informative Speech

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,

The symptoms of narcolepsy include cataplexy, persistent daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. Cataplexy is “a loss of skeletal muscle tone without loss of consciousness” (77). These cataplectic attacks often occur at emotional times. Such events could be laughter, sexual intercourse, physical

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

·         Approximately how long does it take a well-rested person to fall asleep at night? 15-20 mins

Narcolepsy is a permanent sleep disorder that gets worse with age. It is estimated that about 40,000 to 135,000 people in the United States have narcolepsy. (Narcolepsy, 2002). Most people who have narcolepsy are often times misdiagnosed because the symptoms, especially if noticed at the beginning stages, are very similar to other sleep disorders. Some of the symptoms that go along with narcolepsy are excessive sleepiness, especially during the daytime or when sleep is inappropriate, cataplexy which is when a person suddenly looses control of their muscles, sleep paralysis which is when the person is unable to move for a short period of time after they wake up from sleep, and hypnagogic hallucinations which is very

Narcolepsy is defined as a condition characterized by an extreme tendency to fall asleep whenever in relaxing surroundings. It is a brain disorder that causes poor control of sleep and wake cycles. People that have narcolepsy usually experience sudden sleep attacks. These sleep attacks can last from a few seconds to minutes. Narcolepsy is classified by extreme daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnologic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. In this paper the focus is on the physiological effects of Narcolepsy on an individual, as well as explains treatments and recent research studies being made today and in the future.

Narcolepsy is defined as a lifelong neurological disorder of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in which the affected individual has attacks of irresistible daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (sudden muscle weakness in response to emotional triggers like surprise, laughter, fright, or anger), hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis (Wiley). Cataplexy is one of the most common signs of narcolepsy and many investigators argue the presence of cataplexy is required to confirm a diagnosis of narcolepsy. Cataplectic attacks can be elicited easily with canines by emotional stimuli, like food or play. When a cataplectic attack happens the muscles weaken and often the dog collapses. These attacks most often affect the neck, front legs, hind legs, or all

Narcolepsy is a chronic brain disorder that causes a person to fall asleep at any time of the day. It also affects a person’s sleep habits at night. They tend to wake more often during nighttime sleep. A normal person sleeps for about 8 hours and enters non-rapid eye movement sleep, and then transitions into rapid eye movement sleep. A narcoleptic person enters rapid eye movement sleep within a few minutes of falling asleep. Narcolepsy can occur during daily activities such as when a person is driving, talking, playing a game, eating, or at work or school. Narcolepsy is caused by low levels of the neurotransmitter hypocretin. A person is diagnosed with narcolepsy with a clinical examination and exhaustive medical history. There is not a cure

Occasional nap periods are effective in minimizing sleep debt. Limit naps to less than 30 minutes to avoid counterproductive sleep inertia. Avoiding large meals immediately prior to sleep, exercising a minimum of 2-3 hours prior to sleep, utilizing mental relaxation techniques to help sleep, limiting alcohol, caffeine and nicotine consumption in overall volume and to a period 3 to 6 hours before bed will prepare the body an effective sleep

Narcolepsy is classified as a neurological disorder and is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness. In children, narcolepsy with its recurring episodes of ‘sleep attacks’ can lead to social as well as academic dysfunction. Narcolepsy syndrome (NS) features vivid pseudo-dream experiences just before sleeping or upon awakening, referred to as hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, respectively. NS also presents with cataplexy, which is an abrupt and unexpected loss in muscular tone as a reaction to strong emotions. Narcoleptic children often have an ongoing struggle to avoid somnolence and may fall asleep in unusual places and unpredictable times.

I suffer from Narcolepsy, a neurological disorder. Narcolepsy impacts my life because it causes extreme drowsiness and at times I fall asleep at any time without warning. During periods of extreme drowsiness, it is difficult to maintain attention or sometimes even remember what occurred during that period of time. Basically, it results in mental cloudiness.

Treatments for narcolepsy are based entirely on the symptoms that manifest and though non-pharmacological therapy has been used, drug-based therapy is the backbone of most of the treatment arranged. In its early days, narcolepsy was treated with caffeine and other traditional stimulants but there uses become extremely risky to the heart at high dosages. Insulin-induced hypoglycemia was tried as well but it only showed small and temporary remissions. Mostly antidepressants are used to treat narcolepsy now, but there is still a lack of evidence that showing positive results[NarcRev]. As more research is done, and our comprehension of how the mind works and how it links with the body progresses, we may find better and more accurate treatments for this unique disorder. These results that specific chemicals of the brain are entangled in narcolepsy also opens new research paths in sleep research. Overall, narcolepsy is an often misunderstood and undiagnosed disorder and although not much is known about it, with additional research, the future of treatments and maybe even a cure can be

Polysomnography is a type of technology that documents brain waves and various body movements (Moorcroft, 2013, pg. 17). It also recognizes the sleep and wake periods during an individual’s sleep (Moorcroft, 2013, pg. 17). It is defined by “alert wakefulness”, “drowsy wakefulness”, N1, N2, and N3 (aka non-REM sleep), and rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) (Moorcroft, 2013, pg. 18). Polysomnography identifies with electrical energy that the different areas of the body gives off through sensors (Moorcroft, 2013, pg. 18). These results are then recorded on a piece of paper with ink lines or documented as lines on the computer, which are then saved on the computer (Moorcroft, 2013, pg. 18). Polysomnography measures three things, which are brain waves, eye movement, and

Cataplexy itself is a sudden loss of muscle control. Cataplexy happens when an individual is stimulated by stimuli such as laughter or anger, and may suddenly collapse due to their involuntary muscle functioning. This is the dangerous feature that comes with having narcolepsy. Some narcoleptics may have to wear protective headgear such as helmets because there is a risk of injury that comes with cataplexy (nnpdf.org).

Although narcolepsy is a very common disorder, affecting between 1 in 1000 and 1 in 2000 people in the United States, there is still no cure and the only medications available mask some of the symptoms, but they are only effective for a short time (6). Though their is no cure, scientists have been trying to solve this problem since the ‘discovery’ of the disease 120 years ago. At this point they have a few possible areas that they are studying which have been connected to the disease. The suggestions that have been made so far are causes such as neuronal degeneration, a genetic mutation or an autoimmune disease (6). These possible causes are varied and have been proven to cause narcolepsy in other animals, but not humans specifically.