Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by attacks of disabling daytime drowsiness and low alertness. The normal physiologic components of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, dreaming and loss of muscle tone, are separated and also occur while the subject is awake, resulting in half-sleep dreams and episodes of skeletal muscle paralysis and atonia (cataplexy and sleep paralysis).Unlike normal sleep, that of narcolepsy often begins with REM activity and the time taken to fall asleep is shorter than normal.

Narcolepsy affects approximately 1 person in 2,000 of the population. This is as many as are affected by Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson's Disease, and more than affected by Cystic Fibrosis or Lupus. Yet few people know about Narcolepsy, a medical disorder that causes people to fall asleep when they do not want to, to struggle though the day with continual sleepiness, and to never feel fully alert. Cataplexy, a muscular weakness that comes on with emotion, such as laughter or sudden surprise, can cause the sufferer to fall to the ground. We are now able to accurately diagnose Narcolepsy through sleep studies, thanks to modern technology, however, the cause of Narcolepsy is still unknown. Yet, we know that it has a strong genetic basis and seems to involve the immune defense system. Although the gene has been discovered for Cystic fibrosis, Huntington's Disease and many other genetic illnesses, the genetic factors involved in Narcolepsy still elude us. We are close to finding the gene for Narcolepsy and with a little more support and effort we should be on the way to finding a cure.