Understanding Narcolepsy; Symptoms, Causes And Treatments

Hallucinations

Over ten percent of the population experience hallucinations at some point during their life. Vivid hallucinations are commonplace in patients with narcolepsy and they can target any sensory perception, whether it is visual, auditory, smell, or tactile. These hallucinations can occur when individuals are falling asleep, called hypnagogic hallucinations, or they may occur when waking up, called hypnopompic hallucinations.

These sleep-related hallucinations may be accompanied by sleep paralysis, and are often the result of sleep disorders and mental illnesses such as narcolepsy, insomnia, anxiety, stress, or alcohol and drug use. The best ways to treat hallucinations are by getting adequate sleep, reducing stress, and avoiding alcohol, drugs, and medications that may contribute to the hallucinations.

Additional Symptoms Of Narcolepsy

Other symptoms factor into the lives of some patients who suffer from narcolepsy. Fragmented sleep and insomnia may occur, causing the patient to feel very sleepy and drowsy throughout the day and experiencing difficulties falling and staying asleep at night. Sleep can be disrupted by insomnia, vivid dreams, sleep apnea, obstruction, and acting out while dreaming.

Patients may also experience automatic behaviors, where they fall asleep during activity and automatically continue the activity upon waking up without being aware of what they were doing or being able to recall their actions. Automatic behaviors usually occur while patients are engaged in regular activities such as driving.