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Posted by Greg Harper, RRT, RCP on February 25, 1998 at 11:10:26:In Reply to: Hypnagogic hallucinations without narcolepsy? posted by Karin Leigh on February 24, 1998 at 16:20:30:
Karin:
Up until just recently I knew that hypnagogic (occuring at sleep onset)and hypnopompic (occuring upon awakening) hallucinations were a cardinal sign of narcolepsy. In fact, I thought that these events were only found with narcolepsy. It turns out that this is not true.
In a recent supplement to the journal of Neurology (February 1998, Vol 50, Supplement 1) Dr. Michael S. Aldrich, MD addresses the diagnostic aspects of narcolepsy. He writes:
"As with sleep paralysis, sleep related hallucinations may occur in other sleep disorders, but hallucinations that occur nightly or several times per week are much more common with narcolepsy-cataplexy than with other sleep disorders."
Your friend may have also told you that these hallucinations have bizzare features that are similar to dreams, but, unlike dreams, consciousness of your surroundings is preserved.
Sleep-related hallucinations can also occur with many sleep disorders that cause excessive daytime sleepiness including; idiopathic hypersomnia, insufficient sleep syndrome, and sleep disordered breathing.
It is believed that some of the features of REM sleep, dreaming in the case of sleep-related hallucinations, are able to break through some portal in consciousness during the transition from wakefulness to sleep or from sleep to wakefulness. This portal must be especially vulnerable when a person is excessively sleepy.
Now, in terms of the symptoms that you report... do you have a sleep disorder? I would say that the answer is yes.
You need to go to a physician who specializes in sleep medicine to get a diagnosis. There are over 80 different kinds of sleep disorders and most of them are not age related. That is, the onset of a sleep disorder can happen at any age.
If you have any other questions, please let me know.
I have to go now. Its time for my nap.
Sincerely,
Greg Harper
- Re: Hypnagogic hallucinations without narcolepsy? Lou 3/09/98 (0)
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