Why Are You Always So Sleepy? People With This Condition May Not Even Know They Have It

January 31, 2017

Do you ever find yourself asking, “Why am I always so sleepy?” Do you have vivid or frightening dreamlike experiences when on the verge of falling asleep?² Or perhaps you experience cataplexy – a weakening of your muscles when you feel strong emotions like laughter, embarrassment or surprise.^2,^[1]^,^[2]

If so, you’re not alone. You may be among the approximately 1 in 2,000 people in the U.S. who has narcolepsy.²^,^[3] While there are five major symptoms of narcolepsy, including vivid dreamlike experiences and cataplexy, you don’t need to have all five to have the condition.^3,5

so sleepy narcolepsy

All 5 symptoms of narcolepsy are:

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness: an irresistible urge to sleep during the day³

Cataplexy: the weakening of muscles when you feel strong emotions like embarrassment, laughter, surprise, or anger^2, 3, 4

Sleep Disruption: experiencing poor-quality sleep at night, often falling asleep quickly but waking up frequently throughout the night^2,3

Sleep Paralysis: being unable to move or speak when falling asleep or waking up^3,5

Hynpagogic Hallucinations: nightmares or vivid (often frightening) dreamlike experiences^2, 3

so sleepy narcolepsy

Julea Steiner, a University of North Carolina (UNC) professor, struggled with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), vivid dreams, hallucinations, and mild cataplexy for many years before she was correctly diagnosed with narcolepsy. Doctors misdiagnosed Julea with everything from ADHD to vitamin deficiency, and it wasn’t until a physician suggested she get a sleep study that she reached the correct diagnosis.

Julea joined me to tell the story of her journey to narcolepsy diagnosis. She was excited to share her story to help others understand the condition better.