Narcolepsy and Breathing Related Sleep Disorders
Overview of Narcolepsy
- Principal symptom: Recurrent intense need for sleep, lapses into sleep, or napping
- Also accompanied by at least one:
- Cataplexy
- Hypocretin deficiency
- Going into REM sleep abnormally fast (<15 min), as evidenced by polysomnographic measures
Facts & Statistics: Narcolepsy
- It’s a rare condition
- Affects about .03% to .16% of the population
- Equally distributed between males and females
- Onset during adolescence
- Typically improves over time
- Include three different disorders previously classified as parts of the same disorder:
- Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea
- Airflow stops, but respiratory system works
- Central sleep apnea (CSA)
- Respiratory systems stops for brief periods
- Sleep-related hypoventilation: Decreased breathing during sleep not better explained by another sleep disorder
Facts and Features
- Obstructive sleep apnea occurs in 10 to 20% of population
- More common in males
- Associated with obesity and increasing age
- Persons are usually minimally aware of apnea problem
- Often snore, sweat during sleep, wake frequently
- May have morning headaches
- May experience episodes of falling asleep during the day (due to poor sleep quality at night)