The non-drug treatment approaches listed here may help ease the symptoms of narcolepsy among people who are also using a drug treatment. For people who have milder narcoleptic symptoms, these treatments could possibly alleviate symptoms without additional drug treatment.
1) Try to maintain a regular sleep-wake schedule. In other words, try to go to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning.
2) Schedule to take several short naps during the day. This has been shown to improve alertness considerably and reduce daytime sleepiness among people with narcolepsy. These naps only need to be brief, because it has been shown that increasing the length of the nap produces no increase in alertness. (Roehrs, 1986)
3) Create a comfortable sleep environment that promotes uninterrupted sleep.
4) Try to avoid taking stimulating drugs, with the exception of those that have been prescribed to you by your doctor. Examples of common stimulants include nicotine (the principle psychoactive chemical in tobacco) and caffeine (found in coffee as well as many sodas and teas). While using these drugs may be acceptable early in the day, they should be especially avoided in the evening because the brain stimulation they produce may disrupt and fragment crucial nighttime sleep.