“Narcolepsy and Sleep Paralysis - A Fishy Tale”
Sleep aid tips article

There can't be many people who have not seen the film"Moby Dick", either in its original 1956 version with Gregory Peck, or the more recent 1998 television adaptation with Patrick Stewart.

I'm sure too that many people will have read the book itself, written by Herman Melville way back in 1851.

What you probably won't remember however is one particular passage from the book in which the narrator,Ishmael, says:

"For what seemed ages piled on ages, I lay there, frozenwith the most awful fears, not daring to drag away my hand;yet ever thinking that if I could but stir in one singleinch, the horrid spell would be broken.

I knew not how thisconsciousness at last glided away from me; but waking in themorning, I shudderingly remembered it all, and for days andweeks and months afterwards I lost myself in confoundingattempts to explain the mystery."

Although sleep paralysis would not be described by theAmerican neurologist Weir Mitchell for another 25 years,this gives us a vivid account of a condition that has beenaround since the dawn of time.

Sleep paralysis is one of a number of unwanted events thatoccur during sleep (including sleep walking, nightmares,night terrors and restless legs syndrome) and about half ofus will experience at least one episode of sleep paralysisduring our lifetime.

For many narcolepsy sufferers,however, sleep paralysis can be a common occurrence and, ifaccompanied by hallucinations (another frequent symptom ofnarcolepsy), it can be a particularly frightening, or eventerrifying, experience.

Sleep paralysis very rarely presents any real danger to thesufferer. Nevertheless, it is an experience that most of uscould live without and one for which we would dearly love tohave a cure. Unfortunately, however, there is no cure atpresent, but, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

For some time now it has been known that human leukocyteantigen, or HLA, (a protein found on the surface of whiteblood cells and forming part of the body's natural defenseor immune system) has played a part in causing narcolepsy. What has not been understood though is just what role thisprotein has played.

In two separate studies carried out inTexas and California in 2000 however the true role of HLAemerged and this is now being confirmed in a series offurther studies, the most recent of which (June 2005) comesfrom the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

It appears that narcolepsy is caused by the lack of aparticular chemical called hypocretin or orexin that isnormally produced by the brain and plays a key role inmaintaining a normal sleep pattern.

In the case ofnarcolepsy sufferers this chemical is missing because of thepresence of an autoimmune disease. In other words, thebody's immune system, instead of attacking foreign invaders,attacks healthy cells (in this case hypocretin or orexinmolecules) and destroys them.

So what does all this mean for narcolepsy sufferers?

Well, it certainly doesn't mean that a cure will appeartomorrow, but it does mean that scientists now know how tocure the condition.

On the one hand they can look atmethods of preventing the body's immune system fromattacking hypocretin or orexin molecules and, on the otherhand, they can develop a method of replacing the lostmolecules.

This will of course require further research and clinicaltrials and will take some years.

In the meantime, suffererswill need to stick with their current recognized drugtreatments and continue to pursue a policy of sound sleephygiene and behavioral management.

But the knowledge thatscientists have now pinpointed the cause of narcolepsy andthat a cure is at last in the pipeline should act as verygood encouragement for anybody living with narcolepsy today.

Donald Saunders is the author of a number of health relatedpublications including: "How To Get A Good Night's Sleep -Simple Solutions To Help You Rest"Pick up your free copy today at http://help-me-to-sleep.com/narcolepsy/

"Stop Your Snoring For Good - Without Undertaking Surgery, Getting Dental Implant, Taking Medicine, Or Wearing Any Devices While Sleeping. Practice a few easy exercises for three minutes a day, whenever you feel like it, and cure your snoring permanently!” the stop snoring exercise program

Is It Possible to Reduce Your Sleep by 3 Hours, and Have More Energy in Your Life than When You Slept 8 Hours or Longer?

What Would It Be Like to Have 27 Hours in Your Day Instead of 24?

There’s actually a method to optimize your body’s inner sleep system to sleep less, and have more energy in your life than when you slept LONGER. Sleep expert Kacper Postawski spills the beans in his fascinating new ebook “Powerful Sleep.”

While most people think sleep is just “sleep,” it is actually a complex and fascinating system which you can OPTIMIZE in order to sleep less, and create an abundance of energy in your life.

In this fascinating new eBook, Kacper Postawski shares with you:

* The four most important elements which your inner sleep clock relies on to determine when to sleep, how long you sleep, and how energizing your sleep is. Discovering these principles will allow you to gain a firm understanding of how to gain control over your sleep and daily energy level.

* How to optimize your Inner Sleep Clock so that it's possible for you to reduce your sleep by up to 3 hours, and increase the quality, and power of your sleep (If you don't do this, you will do more damage to your body than good by sleeping less.)

* What really happens to your body while you sleep? While most people think sleep is just "sleep", your body is busier when you're sleeping than when you're awake. The inner sleep system is a complex mechanism which is affected by many things you do on a daily basis. (Most of them you're not aware of). This is a key understanding to optimizing your sleep.

“Powerful Sleep - Secrets of the Inner Sleep Clock” can show you how to reduce your sleep by up to 3 hours, create more time, and an abundance of energy in your body by sleeping LESS! Not more. This system dispels the “8 hour sleep myth”, tells you what most people never realize about sleep, and what the drug companies DONT WANT YOU to know. Go to: www.PowerfulSleep.com to find out more about Powerful Sleep Aids.

What sleep aids tips or sleep disorder remedies are you looking for?
Try a local search of our sleep aid tips site for your answers

	Web www.sleep-aid-tips.com