Per the Alaska Sleep Clinic, narcolepsy is defined as “a neurological disorder characterized by the brain’s inability to control sleep cycles and wakefulness.” Narcolepsy affects approximately 1 in 2,000 people making it one of the most common sleep disorders.However, when someone thinks of narcolepsy, they often think of the inability to stay awake and the ability to fall dead asleep out of nowhere. While that is one very severe type of narcolepsy, it is incredibly rare and is more so a stereotype than a fact (Phillips, 2014). Narcolepsy has been known since the 1870s but the only real pertinent research that we have on it has been done in the past 15 years. In this regard it is “new”, as not much is known about the disorders as is about many others (The Science of Narcolepsy, 2018). The correct way to discuss someone with this disorder using people first language is “a person with narcolepsy.” 

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Causes: Studies done on patients with narcolepsy show that it has been found that they have significantly reduced levels of the neurotransmitter hypocretin, which promotes wakefulness (Phillips, 2014). It has been revealed that narcolepsy is caused by a lack of hypocretins, key brain chemicals that help sustain alertness and prevent REM sleep from occurring at the wrong times. (The Science of Narcolepsy, 2018).Narcolepsy largely comes from genetics. It is possible for a parent to have the genes for narcolepsy, without actually having narcolepsy, and can pass it on to their children. It is not uncommon from individuals age 6-11 to suddenly develop narcolepsy, as this is a key part of their development in their formative years. Emotional and developmental “triggers” during these years can cause the sudden onset of narcolepsy (The Science of Narcolepsy, 2018). 

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Treatment: Stimulants, anti-depressants, sodium oxybate (a sedative), and lifestyle management can all be used to treat narcolepsy. Doctors are reluctant to resort to medication to treat it, if at all possible, especially in younger children. 

 

Symptoms:

-Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS)

-Sleep paralysis

-Cataplexy

-Hallucinations

-Disturbed nocturnal sleep

 

Signs in the classroom: 

-EDS

-Brain fog and memory problems

-Disorganization

-Unfortunately, many of narcolepsy’s symptoms will blend in with the average child’s life. For example, EDS is often mistaken in teens as laziness and sleep deprivation. 

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