Extreme Sleepiness Explained: Narcolepsy vs. Other Sleep Disorders

When daytime tiredness becomes a life distraction, it can slow you down or impair your judgment. It can be downright dangerous if it leads to spontaneous sleep episodes that you can not prevent or avoid. 

Narcolepsy and other sleep disorders like insomnia seem to have similarities, but you should be aware of some important distinctions. If you have trouble with your circadian rhythms, contact Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Group, LLC, in Monroe, New Jersey. 

We offer home and commercial driver’s license (CDL) sleep testing as well as diagnosis and treatment plan development. To perform at your peak level, be sure to get the rest you need. 

The difference between narcolepsy and insomnia

More than 80 different sleep disorders exist, with narcolepsy and insomnia among the most common. Both of these disorders lead to daytime drowsiness and brain fog, but that’s about where the similarities end. 

Insomnia

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder in which you have problems falling asleep or staying asleep. It robs your body of the deep, restorative stages of sleep necessary for rest and recovery. 

During the day, you feel tired and irritable; concentration is difficult. It may be due to a combination of factors, including poor sleep hygiene, stress, or imbalances of brain chemistry. 

Narcolepsy

A much more serious condition than insomnia, narcolepsy is a chronic neurological condition that robs you of the ability to regulate your sleep/wake cycles. Though it shares excessive daytime drowsiness with insomnia, it can strike at any time with sudden attacks of sleep that you can’t fight off. 

At night, you may notice the opposite, waking up frequently when you should be sleeping. You could also experience symptoms like: 

• Cataplexy: sudden loss of muscle control tied to strong emotions
• Hallucinations 
• Sleep paralysis: the inability to move or speak as you wake up or fall asleep

Type 1 narcolepsy includes people who experience cataplexy, while those who don’t experience cataplexy get classified as type 2 narcoleptics. 

Can you have both narcolepsy and insomnia? 

Rather than existing as two simultaneous conditions, insomnia is often a symptom of narcolepsy. Sleep disruptions at night, one of the primary insomnia symptoms, can also occur in narcoleptics, providing a crossover point between the two sleep disorders. 

Other sleep disorders that accompany narcolepsy

Insomnia isn’t the only sleep disorder that occurs alongside narcolepsy. Other common disorders that may co-occur include:

• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Restless leg syndrome
• Periodic limb movement disorder
• REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)

People with narcolepsy have an elevated risk of developing some medical conditions, including chronic pain, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. 

Extreme sleepiness is a potentially hazardous health condition, regardless of its cause. Contact the Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Group, LLC, team online or by phone to book a sleep consultation today.