Embarrassing Illnesses

The exact cause of narcolepsy is not yet fully understood. Some studies have suggested that it could be a genetic disorder. However, only 2% of people with narcolepsy have a close family member with the condition. This suggests that a number of other factors may also contribute to the cause of narcolepsy. Some of these factors are outlined below.

Normal sleep pattern

When you normally fall asleep, your body goes through two main stages. Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) is the first stage. During this stage, your brain activity slows down. You will normally be in NREM sleep for approximately 1-2 hours, before entering rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. During REM, your brain activity starts to increase. Dreaming often occurs during REM.

Narcolepsy sleep pattern

If you have narcolepsy, you do not have NREM sleep. Instead, your body falls straight into the second stage of sleep, known as REM. This means that people with narcolepsy often start having vivid dreams almost as soon as they fall asleep. People with narcolepsy also go into REM sleep at inappropriate times.

Brain chemicals

Some research has suggested that narcolepsy may be caused by an imbalance of chemicals in your brain. Some of these chemicals, such as hypocretin, are responsible for regulating your sleep. Hypocretin helps you to wake up after you have been sleeping, and then ensures that you stay awake.

Tests have shown that people with narcolepsy have lower than average levels of hypocretin, which scientists believe is one of the factors which causes irregular sleep patterns.

It is not known why the brain chemicals become imbalanced in people with narcolepsy. However, one theory suggests that it may occur as a result of the immune system attacking the cells which produce hypocretin. The immune system normally protects the body from infection, but sometimes it can attack the body's own tissues and cells as well.