health
Narcolepsy, the condition that causes a person to fall asleep suddenly
Narcolepsy is a condition that causes daytime sleepiness and can cause a person to fall asleep suddenly. Some patients may experience other symptoms such as muscle weakness when they feel very intense emotions.
TL;DR
- Narcolepsy causes extreme daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks.
- Symptoms can include muscle weakness (cataplexy) triggered by strong emotions.
- Other symptoms are automatic behaviors, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations.
- The condition is lifelong with no known cure.
- Low levels of brain chemical hypocretin and genetics are thought to be causes.