In addition to any of the typical narcolepsy symptoms, people with secondary narcolepsy also have severe neurological problems and require large amounts (>10 hours) of sleep. There also exists another, very rare type known as secondary narcolepsy, which occurs with injury to a deep part of the brain called the hypothalamus. People who have narcolepsy without cataplexy have sleepiness but no emotionally triggered muscle weakness, and generally have less severe symptoms.
#Catalepsy vs cataplexy full#
Narcolepsy is a manageable condition, and with an array of treatment strategies, people with narcolepsy can live full and rewarding lives.įor a one-page summary of narcolepsy and its symptoms, causes, and treatments, download What Is Narcolepsy? (PDF).Ĭlinicians now recognize two major types of narcolepsy: narcolepsy with cataplexy (muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions) and narcolepsy without cataplexy. Narcolepsy affects women and men equally, occurring in about 1 in 2,000 people. The disorder usually begins between ages 10 and 20, although sometimes it starts as late as age 40 or 50. Symptoms typically develop over several months and last a lifetime. Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that causes persistent sleepiness and additional symptoms such as brief episodes of muscle weakness known as cataplexy, vivid, dreamlike hallucinations, brief episodes of paralysis when falling asleep or upon awakening (sleep paralysis), and fragmented nighttime sleep. Narcolepsy is a manageable condition, and people with narcolepsy can lead full and rewarding lives.It typically develops during the teen years and lasts for life. Narcolepsy is an important cause of chronic sleepiness, affecting about 1 in 2,000 people.In people with narcolepsy, the regulation of sleep is disrupted: the boundaries between wakefulness and sleep are less distinct, and elements of sleep and wakefulness can mix together. To learn more about types of sleep and sleep cycles, see Healthy Sleep. In individuals without narcolepsy, REM sleep, non-REM sleep, and wakefulness are distinct states that do not mix together. In non-REM sleep, dreams are less common and the body is not paralyzed. REM sleep is characterized by dreams, quick eye movements, and paralysis of the limbs and trunk that prevents someone from acting out dreams and getting injured during sleep. Healthy sleep includes two types of sleep: rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep. To understand the symptoms of narcolepsy, it helps to first understand how sleep happens normally.