Sleepwalking And Narcolepsy

Sleeping Disorders: Sleepwalking and Narcolepsy

Sleep is among the most important things our body does to keep itself healthy and functioning properly. Without sleep, or without enough sleep, we can experience a large number of serious health consequences, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, heart attack(s), depression, weight gain, and even death (“10 Dangerous Side Effects of Lack of Sleep”). Some individuals experience sleep loss simply as a result of poor lifestyle habits, such as staying up too late at night, watching television or using the computer immediately before bed, consuming too much caffeine, and so on, for others it is caused by health circumstances which are side of their control, namely: sleep disorders.

If awoken by someone else, sleepwalkers, particularly men, can possibly become violent (“Sleepwalking”, Yoursleep.aasmet.org). This condition can occur at any age, however it most often occurs in children between the ages of six to twelve years old (“Parasomnias”). “Sleepwalking most often occurs during deep non-REM sleep early in the night” (“Sleepwalking”, Psychology Today). This “deep” sleep, also known as slow wave sleep, is much more prevalent in children and young adults than in other age groups (“Sleepwalking”, Bionity.com). People who fall into this age category can spend up to 25% of their sleeping time at night in a state of slow wave sleep, which possibly explains why younger individuals are more likely to be affected by this nocturnal affliction (“Sleepwalking”,

is Narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a serious condition, and is defined as “the brain’s inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally” (“NINDS Narcolepsy Information Page”). Narcolepsy is less common than sleepwalking, but still affects approximately 1 out of every 2,000 individuals (“What is Narcolepsy?”, Wake Up Narcolepsy.org). For reasons that are unknown, this condition is much higher in Japan than other countries, where it affects approximately 1 out of every 500 people (“What is Narcolepsy?”, Wake Up Narcolepsy.org). One of the primary symptoms of this sleep disorder is Cataplexy. Cataplexy is the loss of muscle control, and can be slight to extreme in severity (“Narcolepsy”, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). The effects of Cataplexy are brought on by “either stress or powerful emotions such as laughing, fright, or becoming angry” (“Narcolepsy”, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). Other symptoms include sleep paralysis, which is essentially being “paralyzed” when the individual is just awakening or in the process of going to sleep (“Narcolepsy”,