Archive for 'Narcolepsy'
Narcolepsy - The Management of a Common Sleep Disorder
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Narcolepsy - The Management of a Common Sleep Disorder
- By Donald Saunders
(c) Donald Saunders All Rights Reserved
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Narcolepsy, a chronic and commonly diagnosed sleep disorder,
affects over a quarter of a million Americans each year
(approximately one person in every two thousand).
Characterized by the body’s inability to properly regulate
sleep, narcolepsy’s most obvious symptoms can include
cataplexy (involuntary loss of muscle control), “automatic”
behaviors (performing regular, mundane tasks by rote),
hallucinations and paralysis during sleep.
However, narcolepsy is most commonly associated with the
onset of “mini sleeps” or “sleep attacks” during the day.
These narcoleptic episodes (often referred to as EDS or
excessive daytime sleepiness) occur when the individual is
suddenly overcome by the urge to sleep. The resulting state
of narcolepsis can pass within a few seconds or it can last
for more than half an hour.
Relatively recent medical research identifies narcolepsy as
a genetically based sleep regulation disorder that usually
emerges during the middle and late teenage years. However,
strong evidence also suggests that some forms of the
condition can be caused by head trauma or brain injury.
Regardless of the cause, because the characteristics of
narcolepsy can also be symptomatic of other, similar sleep
disorders, a thorough medical evaluation (often including a
variety of overnight sleep tests) is required for a correct
diagnosis.
Although scientists continue to close in on the genes
connected with the onset of narcolepsy, treatments for
narcoleptics still vary widely. Common treatments include
the use of approved prescription drugs, such as modafinil
and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors like fluoxitine
and sertroline, to treat the excessive daytime sleepiness.
In large part however the management of narcolepsy depends
upon what appears most effective for the individual, and
because no cure exists at this time, the available
treatments primarily address the sleep disorder’s symptoms.
For most narcoleptics a combination of prescription
medications, natural sleep remedies and behavioral
strategies prove the best means of effectively managing
their narcolepsy. This pro-active approach to dealing with
the condition involves simple lifestyle adjustments to
enhance the quality and duration of each night’s sleep
(including dietary changes and the use of regular exercise)
as well as actively managed sleep cycles that incorporate
short, scheduled naps. A variety of natural sleep remedies
can also successfully help narcoleptics manage their
condition.
Herbal teas and infusions can effectively help to induce and
enhance the body’s natural sleep cycle and offer a healthful
alternative to sleeping pills. Supplementary melatonin (the
hormone produced as part of the body’s natural sleep cycle)
may also help narcoleptics enjoy a better night’s sleep.
Guided meditation and relaxation, chromotherapy and
aromatherapy can also prove valuable natural enhancements to
the successful management of narcolepsy.
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Donald Saunders is the author of a number of health related
e-books including “Help Me To Sleep - A Guide To Natural
Sleep Remedies”
Need to cure your insomnia and get a good night’s sleep?
Visit => http://neozigpig.thewmc.hop.clickbank.net
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Tags: []Symptoms Of Narcolepsy
By: Mary Desaulniers
You’ve probably seen it in movies a hundred times-the caricature of narcoleptics: one moment they’re chatting with you over dinner; the next, they’re fast asleep, their faces in their dinner plates. This caricature, more hyperbolic than true, nevertheless points to a symptom of narcolepsy which makes narcoleptics vulnerable-their involuntary loss of muscle control. The truth is that even during these episodes of involuntary loss, narcoleptics are often fully conscious of their situation. And that is no laughing matter. Often unrecognized and misdiagonosed, this sleep disorder has been the source of trauma in many victims’ lives. What, then is narcolepsy and what are the symptoms of this disorder?
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by the brain’s innability to maintain normal wakefulness during the day. We also know that in narcoleptics, the regular pattern of REM sleep is disturbed. Tested in sleep laboratories, people with narcolepsy enter REM sleep within a few moments of falling asleep while normal sleepers move into REM sleep after 80-100 minutes. This abnormal entrance into REM sleep also seems to be associated with the abnormal daytime appearance of conditions usually experienced during sleep-lack of muscular control, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic dream visons. According to Dr. Jerome Siegel of the Center for Sleep Research, “a group of neurons that is supposed to be active during REM sleep to suppress muscle tone and protect us from the elaborate motor programs that accompany our dreams is being triggered during waking.”
Researchers have theorized that the symptoms of narcolepsy emerge from this abnormal triggering of aspects of REM sleep during the day. These symptoms include
1)Sleep episodes during the day that last anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours or more. Despite the extra sleep, narcoleptics experience persistent drowsiness during the day, which means that, if their condition is not recognized and treated, they can literally be time-bombs on the highway.
2) Catalepsy-the experience of being unable to move for several seconds or more. Catalepsy is probably the most prominent and caricatured symptom of narcolepsy, appearing in 70% of cases. Often, catalepsy takes the form of a seizure, an episode of involuntary loss of muscle control. These attacks can occur at any time during the waking period. Prompted frequently by laughter, intense emotions or even athletic exertion, these episodes can range from being barely perceptible (tremor of the lids) to total physical collapse. The one feature that distinguishes catalepsy from other seizures such as epilepsy is that the patient is almost always fully conscious-even during the most severe episodes.
3)Sleep paralysis-a milder version of catalepsy; sleep paralysis is the inability of the subject to move for a few seconds just before falling asleep or awakening. While most of us remember having such experiences once in a while, they are daily occurrences with narcoleptics.
4)Hypnagogic hallucinations or vivid dreams-which we all have felt or seen just before falling asleep. The difference with narcoleptics is that they live these vivid hallucinations even when awake. Known as hypnagogic dream images when we experience them just before sleep and hypnopompic dream visions when we experience them prior to awakening, these delusional, visual and sometimes auditory images are often vivid and frightening.
5) Automatic behavior-which usually occurs while the subject is asleep. This automatic behavior includes talking, eating, putting things away, brushing hair, changing clothes, actions that are performed while the subject is asleep. However, when awakened, the subject has no memory of performing such activities.
Although research on narcolepsy is growing, not much is known about the causes of the condition. What we do know is that this disorder affects between 1 in 1000 and 1 in 2000 people in the US. Its rates are lowest in Israel and highest in Japan (1 in 600), a situation which suggests that there is a genetic component to the disease. Research suggests as well that narcolepsy may be triggered by an abnormality in an area of chromosome 6, known as the HLA complex which controls sleep patterns. Complicating factors that may precipitate this condition include stress, hormonal changes, trauma, infections and immune system dysfunction. As a matter of fact, a great deal of research is now focused on the possibility that narcolepsy is an auto immune disorder.
Treatment options available now tend to treat the symptoms only, not the cause. They include the use of central nervous system stimulants(like provigil) to sustain wakefulness during the day and depressants at night to suppress REM sleep.
Resources: Siegel Lab at the Center for Sleep Research National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke
Wikipedia
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About the Author:
A fitness and weight consultant, Mary is helping people reclaim their bodies through nutrition, exercise, positive vision and creative engagement. Visit her atGreatBodyat50 or at ProteinPower
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