Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder that disrupts your normal sleeping pattern. It can cause you to fall asleep suddenly, without warning (known as "sleep attacks") and also tends to make you feel excessively drowsy during the day time.
Other symptoms of narcolepsy can include sudden loss of muscle control (cataplexy), hallucinations, disturbed night time sleep and difficulty concentrating.
How common is narcolepsy?
It is not known exactly how common narcolepsy is, largely because the condition often goes unreported, or is not diagnosed correctly. However, it is a relatively rare condition. Some research suggests that it affects approximately 3-5 people in every 10,000, with men and women being equally affected.
There is currently no cure for narcolepsy, but if you have the condition, there are a number of treatments that can help you to manage your symptoms and minimise the impact the condition has on your daily life.
Although narcolepsy should not cause you any long-term physical health problems, it can have a significant affect on your personal and professional life.
