Have you ever experienced that just a few minutes ago you were hyperactive and now it’s just one in the afternoon and you just feel like sleeping like there is no tomorrow? Well, then you might be suffering from Narcolepsy.
Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder in which a person feels daytime sleepiness and sudden loss of muscle control. If this condition persists don’t forget to get it checked with the neurologist. Marham is here to put forward all the necessary information that you may require to know what narcolepsy exactly is.
What are some common Effects of Narcolepsy?
- Loss of Memory: Sudden sleep attack can make you lose your focus and attention thus making it difficult for you to recall past events.
- Anxiety: It greatly disrupts your sleep hence the feeling of sleepiness makes you anxious and depressed.
- Professional life: Daytime sleepiness disturbs your work life. Sudden sleep attacks might be taken lightly by your colleagues, or some may assume you to be just lazy or careless.
- Daily chores: Even driving, cooking, gardening or any other routine work can become a big deal for a person with narcolepsy as they can get sudden sleep attack or lose muscle control unexpectedly.
What are some of the common symptoms of Narcolepsy?
Signs and symptoms of Narcolepsy differ from one person to another but some of the visible ones are:
- Loss of muscle control
- Vivid visual or auditory sensations while being awake
- Sleep paralysis
- Sleep walk
- Nighttime wakefulness with hot flushes
What can you do to treat it?
There are medications that your doctor may recommend you but you need a change in lifestyle to suppress its symptoms. Following are some of the self-help treatments you might want to follow:
Set timings: Set regular time for your sleep, every night trying to be on your bed during the same hours each night. Take a few scheduled naps during the daytime not more than few minutes though.
Cut off Caffeine: You will have to completely quit caffeinated drinks instead go for Decaf products. Moreover quit smoking as nicotine can interfere with your sleep.
Anti-allergy medication: Avoid anti allergy medicines that you find over the counter especially for cold as it can cause extreme drowsiness.
Take help: Ask your co-workers, friends and family members to assist you when a sudden attack happens. They should know your situation to help you out.
Exercise: Do exercise in the morning or at afternoon, this will make you tired and hopefully you will be more likely get a good night sleep.
