Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes excessive sleepiness and frequent daytime sleep attacks.

Daytime sleep disorder; Cataplexy

Narcolepsy is a nervous system disorder, not a mental illness. Anxiety does not cause narcolepsy.

Experts believe that narcolepsy is caused by reduced amounts of a protein called hypocretin, which is made in the brain. What causes the brain to produce less of this protein is unclear.

Narcolepsy tends to run in families.

Conditions that cause insomnia, such as disrupted work schedules, can make narcolepsy worse.

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Sleep patterns in younger and older adults

Review Date: 09/02/2009
Reviewed By: Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Departments of Anatomy Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)