Researchers were able to discover that it is the vibrations at low frequencies (like we experience when driving cars or trucks) that over time make us feel more and more drowsy. This makes perfect sense to anyone who has a small child who would only fall asleep when driving them around the block late in the evening!
Our minds and bodies are not doing anything except getting ready for sleep, so they become quiet and calm. So in a moving car, your mind and body can go into the same kind of quiet “daze” as they do at bed time. This is sometimes called highway hypnosis and can happen to drivers too.
We might be susceptible to sleep while in a car, bus, train, plane, or boat because of multiple factors, including the vibrations and the white noise, the sensations representative of being in the womb, the boredom, or simply the fact that we're tired.
Researchers were able to discover that it is the vibrations at low frequencies (like we experience when driving cars or trucks) that over time make us feel more and more drowsy. This makes perfect sense to anyone who has a small child who would only fall asleep when driving them around the block late in the evening!
What causes narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is often caused by a lack of the brain chemical hypocretin (also known as orexin), which regulates wakefulness. The lack of hypocretin is thought to be caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the cells that produce it or the receptors that allow it to work.
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to control sleep-wake cycles. People with narcolepsy may feel rested after waking, but then feel very sleepy throughout much of the day.
Definition. Kleine-Levin syndrome is a rare disorder that primarily affects adolescent males (approximately 70 percent of those with Kleine-Levin syndrome are male). It is characterized by recurring but reversible periods of excessive sleep (up to 20 hours per day).
What Exactly is Microsleep? You may be unfamiliar with the term, but microsleep is quite common and can be dangerous if it occurs while you are driving a vehicle. Simply put, microsleep is when you fall asleep for a period of several seconds.
The reality is, drowsy driving is more common than you might think. Some states in the U.S. do not include sleepiness or fatigue as a crash cause on their traffic crash report forms. This makes it difficult to track how many motor vehicle crashes are attributed to sluggish driving.
In a physician survey and retrospective chart review study of 252 patients with narcolepsy, 60% of patients had initially received a misdiagnosis of another disorder. The most common misdiagnoses included depression (~31%), insomnia (~18%), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) (~13%).
Narcolepsy type 2 (narcolepsy without cataplexy) is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and abnormal manifestations of REM sleep on polysomnography and multiple sleep latency testing. Cataplexy is absent.
The most common cause of falling asleep randomly during the day is not getting enough good quality sleep. But a range of medical conditions, environmental factors, lifestyle factors, and medications can also be responsible.
Vitamin B12 deficiency was independently associated with narcolepsy. This finding can provide the in vivo evidence of the role of vitamin B12 in the pathogenesis of narcolepsy. Vitamin B12 deficiency is a preventable and treatable disease and should be considered in patients with narcolepsy.
Some of the signs and symptoms of sleep disorders include excessive daytime sleepiness, irregular breathing or increased movement during sleep. Other signs and symptoms include an irregular sleep and wake cycle and difficulty falling asleep.
The diagnosis of narcolepsy is usually supported by test results from a polysomnogram and the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT). A polysomnogram helps your physician assess brain activity during sleep, in particular, how frequently and when REM activity is occurring.
Excessive daytime sleepiness is usually the first sign of narcolepsy. It can have a significant impact on everyday life. Feeling drowsy throughout the day and struggling to stay awake makes it difficult to concentrate at work or school. People with narcolepsy may be misjudged as being lazy or rude.
Research has shown that measuring the level of hypocretin in your cerebrospinal fluid, which surrounds the brain and spinal cord, can be useful in diagnosing narcolepsy. To measure your level of hypocretin, a sample of cerebrospinal fluid is removed using a needle during a procedure called a lumbar puncture.
Crash Analysis:
Younger drivers age 16-24 were nearly twice as likely to be involved in a drowsy driving crash as drivers age 40-59.
alertme™ is the latest lifesaver electronic device that helps prevent accident caused by falling asleep behind the wheel.
33.5% of respondents 65 or older reported having fallen asleep at the wheel at least once in their lifetime. Respondents in the 65+ age group believe general tiredness/sleepiness is enough to make you too dangerous to drive (39%), the most of any other age group.
Causes of hypersomnia
Possible causes of excessive daytime sleepiness. Some medicines, drinking too much alcohol and taking drugs can also cause excessive daytime sleepiness. Sometimes there is no known cause. This is called idiopathic hypersomnia.