Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes excessive sleepiness
and frequent daytime sleep attacks. The most common symptoms of narcolepsy are:
periods of extreme drowness evert 3 to 4 hours during a day. You may feel a
strong urge to sleep, often followed by a short nap. This period can last for
about 15 minutes, although they can be longer. They often occur after eating,
but may occur while driving, talking to someone, or during other situations in
the life of the person who has this disorder. Narcolepsy is a nervous system
disorder, not a mental illness. Anxiety does not cause narcolepsy. Experts
believe that narcolepsy is caused by reduced amounts of a protein called
hypocretin, which is made in the brain. What causes the brain to produce less
of this protein is unclear .Narcolepsy tends to run in families. This means
that if you have it it’s because your parents or grandparents have it too. Conditions that cause insomnia, such as
disrupted work schedules, can make narcolepsy worse.
There is no known cure for narolepsy. The goal of
treatment is to control symtoms.
Narcolepsy appears throughout the world in every racial and ethnic group, affecting males and females equally. But prevalence rates vary among populations. Compared to the U.S. population, for example, the prevalence rate is substantially lower in Israel about one per 500,000 and considerably higher in Japan about one per 600.
