Some people can even fall asleep during the day, even though they get enough sleep at night and wake up refreshed in the morning. Neurology Specialist Assoc. Prof. points out that excessive sleepiness in these people, who are called "sleepers", may indicate narcolepsy, which can lead to serious consequences. Dr. Nergiz Hüseyinoğlu explained the distinctive features of the disorder that impairs the quality of life.
Although sleep duration varies from person to person, a person's daily sleep need is 6-8 hours. However, Neurology Specialist Assoc. Prof. stated that some people feel the need to sleep during the day. Dr. Nergiz Hüseyinoğlu, This is called excessive daytime sleepiness. He warns, "This situation needs to be taken into consideration as it is one of the important symptoms of some diseases and sometimes narcolepsy." It affects more. Assoc. Prof. stated that sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome also cause the need for sleep during the day. Dr. Nergiz Hüseyinoğlu said, “However, narcolepsy has a very distinctive feature: People suffering from these two diseases wake up tired in the morning because they cannot sleep well at night. This creates the need to sleep during the day. However, in narcolepsy, the person feels the desire to sleep during the day even though he/she wakes up in the morning having had enough sleep,” he says.
The sleep attack comes suddenly
This situation is dismissed as 'excessive sleep'. Stating that it is an important health problem that needs to be taken into consideration, Assoc. Dr. Nergiz Hüseyinoğlu gives the following information about narcolepsy: “In narcolepsy, which was first diagnosed in the 1980s, sleep attacks come suddenly. Although the exact cause is not known, it is known that genetic predisposition has an effect.
It can be confused with epilepsy
Although the first symptom of narcolepsy is excessive sleepiness, there are other signs that make diagnosis easier. One of these is cataplexy, defined as sudden muscle relaxation. Cataplexy, which occurs when a person laughs or experiences sudden happiness, excitement or surprise, causes all muscles to relax and the patient to fall to the ground. This condition is very different from epilepsy. Assoc. Prof. stated that Dr. Nergiz Hüseyinoğlu said, “The person is conscious and his respiratory or eye muscles are not affected. Cataplexy attacks can last several minutes. Cataplexy is seen in 20-50 percent of narcolepsy patients. Since cataplexy does not occur in every patient, the diagnosis of the disease is sometimes delayed. The condition that first manifests itself as a visual hallucination is one of the symptoms of narcolepsy. Assoc. Dr. Nergiz Hüseyinoğlu reminds that the sleep pattern consists of consecutive processes such as non-REM (the sleep phase in which there is no eye movement) and REM (the sleep phase in which there is eye movement and dreaming), and says that narcolepsy patients start sleeping directly with REM. Since these people experience more REM throughout the entire sleep period, they may sometimes dream frequently. Sometimes a condition called 'sleep paralysis' is encountered. In this case, the patient can survive for a short time while waking up and sometimes cannot even move his little finger.
A definitive diagnosis is made with a sleep test
What needs to be done for a definitive diagnosis of narcolepsy. There are some tests. Definitive diagnosis is made by multiple sleep latency test. For this, the patient spends one night in the sleep laboratory. The sleep process is evaluated thanks to the sensors attached to the body. Thus, it is revealed whether there are problems such as sleep apnea or periodic leg movements during sleep. The next day, the person is left to sleep for 20 minutes, five times with two-hour intervals during the day. Narcolepsy is diagnosed if it is determined that the person starts sleep with the REM period through the multiple sleep latency test, which examines the time it takes to fall asleep and sleep stages.
If left untreated, it may cause adaptation problems
If narcolepsy is left untreated, it can have a very negative impact on a person's quality of life. When people suddenly fall asleep in inappropriate places, it can cause social problems. Especially cataplexy situations can lead to injury. These people are given medication to eliminate the discomfort and address excessive daytime sleepiness. Paying attention to sleeping hours, staying up late Among the things that need to be taken into consideration are not staying awake until midnight and not consuming alcohol. Teachers should also be informed about this situation, as it can negatively affect the academic success of school-age and adolescence children. Assoc. Dr. Nergiz Hüseyinoğlu “If the disease is not treated, the person's quality of life decreases. For this reason, one must be sensitive about diagnosis and treatment,” he says.
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