Narcolepsy

            
             To understand narcolepsy we first must understand what a sleep disorder is. A sleep disorder is both a physical and psychological condition. It is when you are disturbed in your sleep and when you are awake. It is caused by certain abnormal sleep mechanisms. Though the sleep disorder happens during sleep, the recognizable symptoms are obvious during the day. To be sure that you have a sleep disorder, a polysomnogram is the best way to find out if you really have a sleep disorder. A polysomnogram is a "sleeping test" which is done to observe your movement, actions and brain waves during sleep. Such things like Illness, depression, anxiety, stress, poor sleeping environment, caffeine, abuse of alcohol, medications, heavy smoking, physical discomfort, daytime napping, certain medical conditions, and other counterproductive sleep habits such as early bedtimes, and excessive time spent awake in bed are common factors associated with insomnia.
             There are more than 100 different types of sleeping disorder and waking disorders have been identified. They can be grouped within 4 main categories: problems with staying and falling asleep, problems with staying awake, problems with adhering to a regular sleep schedule, and sleep disruptive behaviors.
             Our brains are very active when we are asleep. sleep affects our daily functioning and our physical and mental health in many ways that we are just beginning to understand. When we are asleep, Nerve-signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters control whether we are asleep or awake by acting on different groups of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain. Neurons in the brainstem, which connects the brain with the spinal cord, produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine that keep some parts of the brain active while we are awake. Other neurons at the base of the brain begin signaling when we fall asleep. These neurons appear to "switch off" the signals that keep us awake.