What Causes Idiopathic Hypersomnia?Ī rare disorder, idiopathic hypersomnia’s cause is not completely understood but relates to the parts of the brain that regulate sleep and wakefulness. People with idiopathic hypersomnia often report a profound need to nap during the day, but often wake feeling unrefreshed. Some patients with Idiopathic hypersomnia sleep for more than 12 hours per night. Idiopathic hypersomnia is poorly understood neurological disorder resulting in unrefreshing sleep despite an adequate amount of sleep and often profound daytime sleepiness. Adapting lifestyle to accommodate the effects of narcolepsy is an important dimension to treatment. Doctors prescribe wake promoting medication to assist with sleepiness, and antidepressant medications are often used to prevent cataplexy. While many of the symptoms may be controlled with medication, there is no cure for narcolepsy. Depression is sometimes associated with narcolepsy, and driving a car is only advisable while under medication. Personal, school and working life is often affected by sleepiness, and there is often a misplaced social perception of laziness or lack of interest.
Narcolepsy’s onset may be sudden or gradual. During daytime naps as well as during nighttime sleep, hallucinations, cataplexy and sleep paralysis may occur. In some cases (but not all) it is an inherited condition.ĭuring normal daytime hours people affected might fall asleep without warning-and rapidly enter Rapid Eye Movement (or REM) sleep. Narcolepsy is related to lack of a brain chemical called hypocretin (also known as orexin). Narcolepsy is caused by a malfunction of the part of the brain which controls levels of alertness. So, despite being tired and sleepy all day, patients with narcolepsy often have poor quality sleep at night. People with narcolepsy often experience other symptoms including broken sleep at night, sometimes due to excessive leg movements during sleep, visual or auditory hallucinations as they are going to sleep or waking from sleep (known as hypnogogic or hypnopompic hallucinations) and commonly, people with narcolepsy experience lucid dreams (dreams in which they are aware that they are having a dream!). Brief naps lasting 20 – 30 minutes may help people to feel rested and be alert for several hours.Ĭataplexy-a sudden loss of muscle tone while conscious-is associated with narcolepsy, as is sleep paralysis-in which people are unable to feel or move a part of their body as they are waking up from sleep. All people with narcolepsy experience excessive drowsiness and often a lack of energy, combined with strong urges to nap which can occur any time during the day. Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder. Idiopathic Hypersomnia is a rare disorder with similar symptoms-and often involving daytime sleeps of 1 - 2 hours which generally are not refreshing. The chronic neurological disorder of narcolepsy involves excessive daytime sleepiness, and is often associated with sleep paralysis, hallucinations and cataplexy.
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