Narcolepsy a sleep disorder

On this episode we discuss Narcolepsy with Jennifer Martin.  Jennifer has been diagnosed with this sleeping disorder and is very excited to share her experiences with us and our listeners.  Narcolepsy is a disabling sleep disorder whereby individuals have excessive daytime sleepiness, or a constant urge to sleep, because their sleep is fragmented, meaning that we do not go through the usual cycles of sleep and are left in a state of sleep deprivation the following day.  For me personally I can sleep 10 or 12 hours straight at night and still have symptoms the next day.  It's about the quality of sleep rather than the quantity.    Some narcoleptics, because of this lack of quality sleep, experience hallucinations, short-term memory problems, slurred speech, difficulty concentrating, automatic behavior and even something called cataplexy.