
Most people know this as sleep walking, sleep talking, night terrors, even wetting the bed and nightmares. However, some peoples’ bodies aren’t super effective doing this, which results in parasomnia. When the body enters REM sleep, it is more or less paralyzed in order to keep you safe if you try to act these dreams out. This is where a person’s fatigue becomes so overpowering, that they have a significantly reduced ability to fight sleepiness. Narcolepsy Type 2 involves only the primary symptom of both narcolepsy types, which is excessive daytime sleepiness. Since narcolepsy is the inability to regulate wakefulness and sleepiness, the body reacts like it would if it were asleep with slowed-down body functions. This misconception is probably based on one variation of narcolepsy, called or narcolepsy with cataplexy, or Type 1 narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is often portrayed in movies as someone who randomly falls asleep, but this isn’t accurate. One subtype of hypersomnia is narcolepsy. A secondary hypersomnia diagnosis might be applied if a doctor determines a person is experiencing symptoms as a result of a health disorder or medication.

Primary hypersomnia means it is given as the initial, first, or principal diagnosis. Hypersomnia could be primary or secondary. The antithesis of insomnia would be hypersomnia, or extreme fatigue and too much sleep. The type of insomnia a person might be dealing with depends on its cause and effects. Short-term insomnia occurs in upwards of 20% of US adults, and isn’t as frequent or as long-lasting as chronic insomnia. Chronic insomnia occurs in about 10% of US adults, and lasts for at least three months.

If a person notices that they have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and the resulting fatigue affects their day-to-day activities, they may have insomnia. Regardless of how it developed, constantly interrupted sleep cycles can lead to additional health problems and other sleep disorders. Many with sleep disorders experience them for weeks, months, or even years. Knocking any of the phases of sleep or the circadian rhythm “out-of-whack” can lead to more than one night of bad sleep. Humans, for the most part, naturally sleep at night and wake when the sun comes up. The circadian rhythm is dictated by exposure to light. About two hours before you fall asleep, your body releases the hormone melatonin, which starts to slow brain activity. How do these sleep cycles begin? Your body's 24 hour clock-called the circadian rhythm-determines these cycles. While sleep scientists are continually working out why we dream what we do, we know that brain and body activity in this sleep stage look the same as when you are awake. This is the stage where some say memories are established. While a person can be woken easily in the first two stages, the brain actively prevents someone from waking up during this stage. Your brain activity is the slowest, and your heart rate and breathing follow suit. Referred to as ‘deep sleep,’ stage three is the most important to recovery. At this point, the body and brain significantly “pump the brakes” on activity and start to slow down functions. The second stage is when you are just initially asleep. Stage one is the shortest of the four phases, and happens before you are fully asleep, when your body is transitioning out of wakefulness. This is the transition phase, or the act of falling asleep.
NARCOLEPSY WITH CATAPLEXY CBT FULL
A full sleep cycle involves each of the four stages, and happens about four-to-five times each night. Just like a recovery from a workout might involve walking and stretching, sleep involves different “activities.” These activities are called stages. Too much or too little sleep isn't always the result of bad bedtime habits sometimes it’s a sign of an underlying condition. Rather, most brain activity slows down in order to recuperate. When you sleep, your brain doesn’t press “pause” on keeping your body healthy.

This is what sleep is for your brain-it’s a cooldown or recovery period. After they’ve worked out and pushed their bodies, they do much gentler activities and stretch in order to recover from exertion. Many athletes will tell you how important cooldown exercises are. What Happens In Your Brain When You Sleep? Irregular sleep here and there won’t cause significant problems, but when it happens on a consistent basis, your health may suffer. You might even feel a bit grumpier, or experience mood swings more than usual. On those days, you have probably found that you have a harder time processing information or working through tasks and problems. Think how tired you’ve felt whenever you stayed up too late the night before, or woken up earlier than usual. Sleep is vital to not only physical health, but mental wellness as well.
