Narcolepsy
Arguably the most rare sleep disorder is narcolepsy, being diagnosed in only about 200,000 individuals each year. Often narcolepsy is portrayed in the media as falling asleep unwillingly and at inopportune times. However, it can more accurately be described as being in a sort of middle ground of sleep. It is caused by abnormalities in the parts of the brain that control REM sleep. According to Neubauer, narcolepsy suffers “don’t have a differentiation between wide awake and sleeping.” This can lead to a myriad of social problems, which is not hard to believe. Imagine not being able to fully distinguish what is actually going on around you. Narcolepsy is also potentially dangerous; therefore, most with this condition to not drive (or operate heavy machinery, we hope). The only solution for Narcolepsy is medication.
