Sleep, Actually
Fragmented nighttime sleep
Frequently broken nights — a common and often surprising part of a condition associated with daytime sleepiness.
People with narcolepsy often sleep poorly at night, waking repeatedly. NINDS notes that disrupted night-time sleep is common, even though the condition is best known for daytime sleepiness.
It surprises people — including employers and family — because it seems contradictory. It is not.
Broken nights are worth describing at appointments in specifics: how often, how long awake, and what tends to be happening.
Related journal prompts
Optional. Recording what you notice may help you prepare questions for a qualified healthcare professional. NAP never infers a cause from what you write.
- Roughly how many times did the night break?
- What was the longest unbroken stretch, as best you can tell?
Related practical tools
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Excessive daytime sleepiness
Persistent, overwhelming daytime sleep pressure that a normal night's sleep does not reliably resolve.
Cataplexy
A sudden, brief loss of muscle tone while awake, often triggered by strong emotion such as laughter.
Sleep paralysis
A temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking, usually lasting seconds to a couple of minutes.
Dream-like experiences around sleep
Vivid, sometimes unsettling images or sensations while falling asleep (hypnagogic) or waking (hypnopompic).
Dreaming, Nightmares, and Narcolepsy
Nightmares, dream-like experiences around sleep, sleep paralysis, and dream enactment are related but distinct experiences.
Automatic behaviour
Continuing a familiar activity while partly asleep, with little or no memory of it afterwards.