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Disrupted Nighttime Sleep (DNS)

It’s normal to wake during the night once in a while. But when you have disrupted sleep associated with narcolepsy, it means you often fall asleep quickly but wake up frequently throughout the night. You may report poor-quality sleep. Disrupted nighttime sleep can sometimes be of major concern.

Excessive daytime sleepiness

Disrupted nighttime sleep can have a major impact on patients’ lives.

The 5 major symptoms of narcolepsy:

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)CataplexyDisrupted nighttime sleep (DNS)Sleep paralysisHypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations

Disrupted nighttime sleep in children and adolescents

Regardless of what causes them, sleep problems in children and adolescents can have a major impact on daily functioning and contribute to daytime sleepiness. Disturbed sleep affects children’s attention, memory, and ability to think and reason normally. Sleep problems are also a cause of distress for parents and may be one of the primary reasons for caregiver stress in families with children who have chronic illnesses.

Disturbed sleep in children can include:

  • Waking frequently during the night
  • Restless leg syndrome
  • Nighttime breathing abnormalities
  • Delayed sleep-phase syndrome
  • Nightmares
  • Sleepwalking

Do you or your child have symptoms
of narcolepsy?

Take a screener
Suspect narcolepsy symptoms?
"Wake up, fall asleep, wake up, fall asleep, then I’d wake up feeling like I got hit by a truck."Hear patients talk about drifting in and out of sleep all night and waking up exhausted.