Do you struggle to stay awake during the day or nod off at inappropriate times? Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is 1 of the 5 symptoms of narcolepsy.
You don’t need to experience all the symptoms of narcolepsy to have it.
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurologic condition (involving certain nerve cells and chemicals) in which the brain is not able to control sleep-wake cycles normally.
The 5 symptoms of narcolepsy are EDS (an uncontrollable urge to sleep, often at inappropriate times), cataplexy (weakening of muscles with strong emotions like laughter), sleep disruption (poor quality sleep at night), sleep paralysis (feeling unable to move or speak when falling asleep or waking up), and hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations (vivid, often frightening, dreamlike experiences when falling asleep or waking up, respectively).Around 1 in 2000 people in the US have narcolepsy, and an estimated 50% of people with narcolepsy have not been diagnosed.
Narcolepsy isn’t always easy to recognize, and getting a diagnosis can take a long time. In fact, people can see an average of 6 different doctors before they’re diagnosed with narcolepsy.
Take the Narcolepsy Symptom Screener today to assess your symptoms to help you have a more informed conversation with a sleep specialist.
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