Narcolepsy Disorder in Children

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by brief sudden and uncontrollable attacks of deep sleep, and may be accompanied by paralysis and hallucinations. Narcolepsy was first recorded in the 17th century by Thomas Willis.

In the 20th century, Robert Yoss and David Daly defined the four classic symptoms of narcolepsy. Studies are ongoing to determine the origins and possible cures to the disorder.

The main symptoms of Narcolepsy are:

• Excessive Day Sleepiness

• Cataplexy or episodes of sudden loss of muscle tone while a person is awake

• Sleep paralysis or an inability to move or speak while waking up

• Hypnogogic hallucinations or vivid dreams that occur while a person falls asleep

Observe your child for possible symptoms of narcolepsy. Children sometimes find it difficult to fall asleep, despite their feeling tired during the day.

Narcoleptic attacks can happen any time putting your child at risk. Regardless of the child’s activity at that moment, they may experience a narcoleptic attack and fall straight into a deep sleep.

The deep sleep phase the child enters is the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is a normal stage of sleep and may be categorized as tonic and phasic.

Phasic REM sleep is intermittent while tonic REM sleep events are persistent. REM sleep involves not only rapid eye movement but also low muscle tone and a rapid, low-voltage Electroencephalography (EEG).

Children with narcolepsy disorders may have extreme difficulty staying awake and could fall asleep any time, sometimes at inappropriate times and places and could result in crucial risks to the child. Narcolepsy does not involve lack of sleep.

A child could sleep very well during the night and still feel tired during the day. This is known as Excessive Day Sleep (EDS) and is one symptom of narcolepsy.

You should be observant since some people might shrug this off as laziness on the part of the child.

When the person falls asleep, they lose control over most of the body's muscles. This is referred to as cataplexy, and is another symptom of narcolepsy.

Cataplexy is manifested as muscular weakness which range from slackening of the facial muscles to the dropping of the jaw or head, weakness at the knees, or a total collapse. The person’s speech is slurred and may have double vision or inability to focus.

Other symptoms are hypnopompic hallucinations and hypnagogic hallucinations. The person undergoes vivid perceptual experiences.

Hypnopompic hallucinations are experienced when a person wakes up from a sleep while Hypnagogic hallucination is experienced when falling asleep. The hallucinations could include other senses too.

Be observant and if you notice any indications of the symptoms, consult a doctor. Don’t ignore the indications and don’t consider them as child laziness and lethargy. Your child’s life is at risk.

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