People with any level of Narcolepsy should have all of their driving privileges revoked, as well as any privileges of operating heavy machinery or complex machinery. Narcolepsy, characterized by the occurrence of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), which is the most disabling feature of the disease (Ueki, Y., Hayashida, K., Komada, Y., Nakamura, M., Kobayashi, M., Iimori, M., & Inoue, Y. 2014). Narcolepsy is exacerbated when the patient is physically inactive, such as driving a car, reading, watching television, or sitting while being in control of machines. Narcolepsy is not something many people would want to have, although sudden uncontrollable sleep periods do sound nice. Narcolepsy is a very serious condition that can be deadly in …show more content…
Imagine waking up late one day, fumbling around to get ready for work by 8:00am to be there at 8:30am. You jump in your car and drive off. You come across a construction zone with many oversized tractors, and one of them happens to be operated by a patient with a case of Narcolepsy. As you are going the speed limit, he suddenly falls asleep and looses all control of his tractor, he crosses the road and crushes your car. You are stuck now, and as he wakes up from the attack, on the other side of the road, he thinks that nothing happened and that everything is perfectly normal, just like it was before the attack. Although he has no clue that he just crushed your car, you are now stranded and possibly injured or even dead, all because a person with Narcolepsy was operating machinery and had an attack. Even if that person is going through treatment to minimize the effects of Narcolepsy, they still should not be able to drive or have a duty with a lot of possibly dangerous situations. This example is one of many that can show the dangers of Narcolepsy. Any level of Narcolepsy can lead to dangerous situations, which relates to why people who have it should not be able to drive or operate complex …show more content…
Narcolepsy (narco meaning “numbness” and lepsy meaning “seizure”) consists primarily of attacks of irresistible sleepiness in the daytime. The patients day is broken up by a series of brief and repetitive sleep attacks, perhaps even two hundred attacks in a single day. These transient, strong attacks may last from a few seconds to as much as thirty minutes, with an average spell lasting two minutes. When a patient suddenly gets the urge to sleep, it is practically impossible for them to ignore that they are suffering an attack, in any situation. These sleep attacks happen uncontrollably, and in any situation or place. People with narcolepsy typically fall asleep suddenly, on the job, in conversation, standing up, and even while eating, driving, or making love. (Matzen 2016, p.1) Many individuals with Narcolepsy are extremely sleepy all day, regardless of how much sleep they got the night before. One of the more prominent and troubling features of Narcolepsy is Cataplexy. Cataplexy is a sudden loss of muscle tone that causes the person to quickly collapse. More than seventy percent of people with Narcolepsy suffer from Cataplexy. Cataplexy may consist of all the muscles or only a select few, so the severity may range from total collapse to the ground to partial collapse of a limb or the jaw. The Cataplectic (patient) sometimes remains
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,
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. At various times throughout the day, people with narcolepsy experience fleeting urges to sleep. If the urge becomes overwhelming, individuals will fall asleep for periods lasting from a few seconds to several minutes. In rare cases, some people may remain asleep for an hour or longer. In addition to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), three other major symptoms frequently characterize narcolepsy: cataplexy, or the sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone; vivid hallucinations during sleep onset or upon awakening; and brief episodes of total paralysis at the beginning or end of sleep. Narcolepsy is not
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
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
According to MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, the common symptoms of narcolepsy are periods of extreme drowsiness during the day (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia). People with narcolepsy feel a strong desire to sleep, usually followed by a short nap. The sleep attacks last about fifteen minutes but can be longer. Often times, these sleep attacks happen after eating, during driving, and other everyday tasks. After a short nap, a person usually wakes up feeling refreshed and energized. As stated by Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia, “Another symptom is dream-like hallucinations between sleep and wakefulness” (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia). This is when a person experiences seeing or hearing right before they fall asleep. Sleep paralysis and cataplexy are also common symptoms of narcolepsy (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia). Sleep paralysis is not being able to move as you are falling asleep or upon waking up. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, it usually goes unnoticed because it occurs during REM sleep (NINDS). REM sleep is rapid eye movement sleep. It occurs in breaks when rapid eye movements occur along with bodily movement. Similarly, cataplexy is a sudden loss of mobility. This is also associated with strong emotion like laughter or anger, which can trigger cataplexy
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).
Narcolepsy is a uncommon sleep disorder characterized for excessive daytime sleepiness and significant daily dysfunction. Daily periods of irresistible need to fall asleep during times when individual is supposed to be awake, as driving or at work, that may result in an accident. Patients with narcolepsy must of the times suffer from insomnia caused by sleep fragmentation this is why is imperative for narcolepsy to be diagnosed and treated.
Summary: Narcolepsy and cataplexy are lifelong illness due to the loss of Hypocretin in the brain. Hypocretin is a chemical that regulate sleep cycle, without it people will experience sleep disorder. There is no cure for the disease. However, condition can be managed by drug therapy and several behavioral strategies. But I am looking forward that one day researcher will find a cure for it so I can live my life normally as I used before.
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder which the brain are unable to regulate sleep wake cycles normally.
In general, any motorist who does not get enough sleep could be at risk for drowsy driving, and thus, getting into an auto accident. There are certain groups, however, which may have a greater risk for driving while fatigued. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shift workers, particularly those who work long shifts or the night shift, may have an increased likelihood for drowsy driving. Additionally, commercial drivers may be more apt to drive while fatigued. There is also an increased risk for young drivers, specifically young men.
Some symptoms of narcolepsy include the following: Cataplexy, hallucinations, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), and sleep paralysis. Cataplexy consists of loss of muscle tone which leads to feelings of weakness and loss of muscle control, it can cause slurred speech and your body can even collapse, all depending of what muscles were involved. Hallucinations are just delusional experiences that are vivid (seem real) and frequently they are freighting. EDS consist of things such as memory lapse, depressed mood, mental cloudiness, lack of energy and concentration and/or extreme exhaustion. Sleep paralysis is when you temporally and inability to move or speak.
Hello everybody, my name is Jessie Thomas and I’m here to discuss the topic of drowsy driving, sense as truck drivers, that’s essentially your job, to drive. Lets start off with some statistics. “According to the National Sleep Foundations 2005 Sleep in America poll, 60% -about 168 million people-say that they have driven a vehicle while feeling drowsy in the past year. “ Also, “Four percent-about eleven million drivers-admit that they have had an accident or near accident because they dozed off or were too tired to drive.” Eleven million people, think about that for a moment.
On the morning of April 4, a man driving an SUV lost consciousness and crashed into a Jersey City charter school. The man appears to have had a seizure before losing consciousness. Because staying awake while driving is so essential for your safety as well as the safety of those around you, taking the proper steps to always be an alert driver is important.