Narcolepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system. It manifests itself as complex sleep disorders in the patient. These disorders manifest themselves in the following symptoms:
– bouts of sudden daytime sleepiness and sudden falling asleep;
– attacks of sudden weakness, complete or partial loss of muscle tone;
– the appearance when falling asleep and upon awakening hallucinations.
Observations prove that narcolepsy occurs mainly in young people and begins to develop more often in men from about 20 years of age. Scientists claim that the disease is hereditary.
The first pronounced symptoms of narcolepsy are sudden daytime sleepiness and sudden falling asleep. The patient is so quickly disconnected from the world around him that he barely has time to take a comfortable sleeping position. This is very dangerous, as a person falls asleep against his will and sometimes in an inappropriate environment. The onset of narcolepsy is especially dangerous when the patient is driving a car.
The next symptoms of narcolepsy are sudden weakness, complete or partial loss of muscle tone. A similar state manifests itself after a person has experienced strong positive or negative emotions: fear, crying, laughter, etc. The state of sudden weakness and loss of muscle tone can also occur after sex. The duration of the attack is from several seconds to several minutes. Then sleep comes. But sometimes sleep paralysis can occur instead of sleep, complete immobility after waking up. A person can only blink or move their eyes. Paralysis is usually very short-lived. After a few minutes, control over one’s own movements is restored.
The vision of hallucinations is a symptom of narcolepsy, not devoid of pleasant moments. The patient is “daydreaming”. Because of the brightness and visibility of the visions, this symptom is called “waking sleep.” A waking dream occurs when a person is relaxed, and his thoughts are in the clouds. During the phenomenon, unusual people, non-existent animals appear and pictures appear that cannot exist in real life.