If you have noticed that you have had awkward sleep patterns lately, or that you are rather tired, perhaps it is time to take note in identifying narcolepsy symptoms that you might be suffering from. While not all narcoleptics will have each of the symptoms that are associated with the disorder, you still may have it. It is for that reason, if you feel you may have these symptoms you should take note and call for an appointment with your physician so that he can decide if this disorder is the cause for your symptoms or not.
Excessive daytime sleepiness is one of the first problems that you should note if you are identifying narcolepsy symptoms. Throughout the day you will tend to feel the sluggish and depressed sensation, whether or not you slept the night before, until your body shuts down into a nap almost involuntarily and at an inopportune time. However, one of the other symptoms that individuals encounter with this sleep disorder is a inconsistent sleep at night, often waking up frequently. Most will rouse and have trouble falling back to sleep as rapidly as they typically would, which further exacerbates their daytime symptoms.
In identifying narcolepsy symptoms, you may notice signs or what is known as cataplexy during the daytime, while you are awake. This is the process of the muscles in the body stopping to function as they normally would, causing the person to collapse on the ground. Because the muscles in the body stop working, this can last just less than a minute or up to thirty minutes, the severity for each sufferer will vary. Respiratory functioning will not be affected if cataplexy set in, so there is no risk to loss of life.
Identifying narcolepsy symptoms, other than those that involve erratic sleep, hypnagogic hallucinations are usual among individuals who could be suffering from the problem. These hallucinations can be tactile, auditory and even visual and are typically like what would be a real-life dream, but they happen at a time when the individual is in between the state of awake and asleep.
Even if you just have one of the symptoms of this disorder, you should still seek the advice of a doctor for an official diagnosis, or confirmation of having this sleep disorder. If you, or your loved one, has been diagnosed with this sleep problem you can be sure that there are treatment means to overcome the consistent need to sleep in the middle of the day.