Symptoms of Narcolepsy

By examining the results of current research on narcolepsy, we can say that this disorder is a heritable central nervous system disease of unknown origin that is characterized by abnormal sleep tendencies, most notably the 'clinical tetrad' of symptoms. The tetrad of narcolepsy symptoms includes excessive daytime sleepiness/somnolence (EDS), cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. Two other symptoms, automatic behaviors and disrupted nighttime sleep, are also commonly described. It should be pointed out that not all of these symptoms are present in all patients with narcolepsy. Also, some of these symptoms are present in the general public, or can also be associated with other sleep disorders.