Jeffrey Mayer, WireImage
We all have times where we struggle to keep our eyes open in the middle of day, but according to the National Institutes of Health, true narcolepsy -- which afflicts approximately one in 2,000 Americans -- is more than just a bit of yawning and a fantasy about taking a nap under your desk.
A neurological disorder that triggers sudden and extreme drowsiness, narcolepsy causes people to fall asleep for several seconds or minutes without warning. If a person is in the middle of performing a task, they will often wake up and continue doing what they were doing without having any memory of falling asleep. The most dangerous aspect of narcolepsy is that these sleeping spells are often, if not always, uncontrollable.
Narcolepsy doesn’t seem to have a strong genetic component, and it’s often not diagnosed until 10 to 15 years after the first episode happens. Experts suspect there are many undiagnosed cases because people often don't know they suffer from the condition until later in life. Late night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel wasn't diagnosed with narcolepsy until he was in his 30s and has since been very open about his struggles with the disorder.
“You know how when you're regular tired, your whole body is tired? With narcolepsy, just the inside of your head is tired. It's like somebody's gently sitting on your brain. You have almost no focus. All you're thinking about is not falling asleep,” he told "Esquire."
Narcoleptic symptoms often crop up without warning. In Kimmel's case, he has not only fallen asleep while emceeing "Win Ben Stein's Money," but also while driving. "I was on the freeway in bumper-to-bumper traffic. My head was diving, then jerking back up. All of a sudden, this loud voice over a megaphone says, 'Are you awake enough to drive that vehicle?' And I practically jumped out of my skin. It was the police, one lane over," Kimmel reported to "Esquire."
Actress Nastassja Kinski told "The Guardian" that she also suffers from a form of narcolepsy and stopped driving at night. Some historical figures may also have had the disorder, including Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison. Historians have also said that Harriet Tubman, “conductor” on the Underground Railroad who repeatedly risked her life to help slaves escape, suffered from narcoleptic seizures as a result of a blow to the head she received as a young girl.
In addition to falling asleep uncontrollably, narcoleptics can also experience cataplexy -- a sudden feeling of weakness and loss of muscle control -- for a few seconds or minutes. In the most severe cases, people become paralyzed, yet are fully conscious during a cataplexy spell. Although a frightening experience, no permanent damage is incurred.
While there is no cure for narcolepsy, doctors typically advise patients to make behavioral changes, such as taking regularly scheduled naps and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. Doctors can also prescribe medication to help manage symptoms. For Kimmel, who suffers from a mild form of narcolepsy, doctors prescribed Provigil, a drug that promotes wakefulness throughout the day.
