Abstract
This paper examines the sleep disorder narcolepsy and discusses the causes of this disorder, its symptoms and treatment, and the physical and psychological effects narcolepsy has on the victim, his family, and others.

Tags:narcolepsy, sleep, disorder

Abstract
This paper discusses how narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. It examines how, with this disorder people can experience an overwhelming desire to go to sleep throughout the day and how these sleeping episodes can occur at any time, which makes this disorder largely disabling. The paper also discusses how there are three others symptoms that accompany the daytime sleepiness - cataplexy, vivid hallucinations, and paralysis. Causes of the disorder and treatment options such as regulation with drug treatment are also discussed.

From the Paper
"Most people think that people with narcolepsy spend a great deal of their time asleep. This is not true. Along with involuntary sleep and daytime sleepiness, most people with narcolepsy will also wake-up frequently during the night. Because of this, narcolepsy is thought to be a disorder of the standard boundaries between the waking and sleeping cycles. "For most adults, a normal night's sleep lasts about 8 hours and is composed of four to six separate sleep cycles. A sleep cycle is defined by a segment of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep followed by a period of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The NREM segment can be further divided into stages according to the size and frequency of brain waves. REM sleep, in contrast, is accompanied by bursts of rapid eye movement (hence the acronym REM sleep) along with sharply heightened brain activity and temporary paralysis of the muscles that control posture and body movement. "

Tags:hypocretin, gene, cataplexy, hallucinations, rem

Abstract
The paper aims to explore the results of the hypothesis that the nightly administration of sodium oxybate will improve both objective and subjective measures of EDS in narcoleptic subjects. The success of this hypothesis will be tested using the ESS, the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (WMT) (which has been used successfully in monitoring sleep disorders), the Clinical Global Impression of Severity (CGI-s), and an assessment of the number of sleep attacks.

Tags:narcolepsy, psychology, sodium

Abstract
Narcolepsy is a chronic, debilitating sleep disorder affecting nearly one percent of the North American population. This paper discusses the history and symptoms of narcolepsy and provides an in depth analysis of the diagnostic tools, both objective and subjective. Issues surrounding diagnosis are given, as well as treatment options such as lifestyle changes and pharmacotherapy.

From the Paper
"Cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations are usually further controlled by tricyclic antidepressants such as Prozac, Triptil, and Anafranil (Daniels, King, Smith & Shneerson, 2001). Medically formulated gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) have shown beneficial effects in control of cataplexy in some patients (Thorpy, 2001). GHB stabilizes nocturnal REM sleep by increasing sleep continuity, and decreases cataplexy attacks, but does not significantly affect daytime sleep attacks or sleep latency (Fry, 1998). Because of GHB's recognition as a date-rape drug and the high instances of personal and social abuse, the drug is highly regulated and hard to receive prescriptions (Fry, 1998)."

Tags:cataplexy, hallucinations, hypnogogic, paralysis

Abstract
This paper introduces and discusses the topic of sleep deprivation. Specifically, it analyzes how narcolepsy and lack of sleep has an effect on short-term and long-term memory. The paper also provides ways of avoiding sleep deprivation. The writer emphasizes the importance of good sleeping habits to ensure a well-balanced, healthy life.

From the Paper
"Sleep. We cannot live without it, but sometimes, it seems like we would like to. Sleep deprivation has become much more common in our hectic and demanding society. "Like the religious ascetics of medieval times, many people today regard sleep as 'time lost.' They regret that the day is only twenty-four hours long and that they do not have time to do all the things they should do or would like to do" (Borbaely 158). One report notes that most people would rather sleep an hour more than they usually do, and in another study, people who slept less that six hours a night displayed the tendency to fall asleep during the day, or complain of being tired during the day."

Tags:tired, exhaustion, fatigue, short-term, long-term, bed, recall

Abstract
This paper examines the physiological and psychology aspects of sleep. It opens with a comprehensive overview of normal sleep and its physiological basis and then details over a dozen of the most common sleep disorders (their basis, diagnosis, treatment, etc.), including insomnia, narcolepsy and sleepwalking.

From the Paper
"The ancient Greeks ascribed the need for sleep to the god Hypnos ("Sleep"), the child of Darkness and Night and the brother of Death, whose power, as he swept across humanity, was so great that even the gods were forced to succumb to him. The prominent place of sleep in ancient mythology serves as a testament to the unequivocal importance it plays in everyday life. Everyone needs to sleep. Although researchers today have devised sophisticated means to define, describe, and detail sleep they still do not fully understand its function. However, when sleep is disturbed, the effects are dramatic and clear. Without sleep we become tired, disoriented, lethargic, mentally dulled, confused, or in extreme cases hallucinatory or assume a state resembling psychosis. Current research on sleep focuses on two main areas: basic sleep mechanisms and sleep physiology and sleep disorders in clinical medicine."

Tags:abnormal, disturbed, dream, insomniacs, narcolepsy, psychopathoilogy, rem

Abstract
The paper describes the author's experiences with sleep deprivation, which can cause a variety of physical and mental stresses, in which she felt like she was on drugs or living in a dream and had cognitive and motor skill problems. Next, the author relates that, based on this personal experience, she agrees more with the recuperation theories of sleep. The paper concludes by discussing the sleep disorder categories of insomnia, which includes all disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep such as sleep apnea, and of hypersomnia, which includes disorders of excessive sleep or sleepiness, such as narcolepsy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Personal Experience
Effects of Sleep Deprivation
Effects of Long-Term Sleep Reduction
Sleep Disorders

From the Paper
"Many sleep disorders fall into one of two categories: insomnia and hypersomnia. Insomnia includes all disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep, and hypersomnia includes disorders of excessive sleep or sleepiness. Sleep apnea is a common cause of insomnia; this is when a person stops breathing many times a night, wakes up, starts breathing again, and drifts back to sleep. Sleep apnea disorders are thought to result from either obstruction of the respiratory passages by muscle spasms or lack of muscle tone, or from the failure of the central nervous system to stimulate respiration. This disorder is most common in males, the overweight, and the elderly. Two other causes of insomnia are nocturnal myoclonus and restless legs. Nocturnal myoclonus is a periodic twitching of the body during sleep. People with restless legs complain of a tension or uneasiness in their legs that keeps them from falling asleep. Narcolepsy is the most common disorder in the hypersomnia category, occurring in 1 out of 2,000 individuals. People with this disorder experience severe daytime sleepiness and repeated daytime sleep episodes lasting 10 to 15 minutes. Though they only sleep an hour per day more than average, it is the inappropriateness of their sleep episodes that defines the condition of a narcoleptic person."

Tags:stresses, baby, depersonalization, narcoleptic, benzodiazepines