Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Sep 15;9(9):955-65.
doi: 10.5664/jcsm.3004.

Disrupted nighttime sleep in narcolepsy

Thomas Roth  1 , Yves Dauvilliers, Emmanuel Mignot, Jacques Montplaisir, Josh Paul, Todd Swick, Phyllis Zee
Affiliations
Review

Disrupted nighttime sleep in narcolepsy

Thomas Roth et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Study objectives: Characterize disrupted nighttime sleep (DNS) in narcolepsy, an important symptom of narcolepsy.

Methods: A panel of international narcolepsy experts was convened in 2011 to build a consensus characterization of DNS in patients with narcolepsy. A literature search of the Medline (1965 to date), Medline In-Process (latest weeks), Embase (1974 to date), Embase Alert (latest 8 weeks), and Biosis (1965 to date) databases was conducted using the following search terms: narcolepsy and disrupted nighttime sleep, disturbed nighttime sleep, fragmented sleep, consolidated sleep, sleep disruption, and narcolepsy questionnaire. The purpose of the literature search was to identify publications characterizing the nighttime sleep of patients with narcolepsy. The panel reviewed the literature. Nocturnal sleep can also be disturbed by REM sleep abnormalities such as vivid dreaming and REM sleep behavior disorder; however, these were not reviewed in the current paper, as we were evaluating for idiopathic sleep disturbances.

Results: The literature reviewed provide a consistent characterization of nighttime sleep in patients with narcolepsy as fragmented, with reports of frequent, brief nightly awakenings with difficulties returning to sleep and associated reports of poor sleep quality. Polysomnographic studies consistently report frequent awakenings/arousals after sleep onset, more stage 1 (S1) sleep, and more frequent shifts to S1 sleep or wake from deeper stages of sleep. The consensus of the International Experts' Panel on Narcolepsy was that DNS can be distressing for patients with narcolepsy and that treatment of DNS warrants consideration.

Conclusions: Clinicians involved in the management of patients with narcolepsy should investigate patients' quality of nighttime sleep, give weight and consideration to patient reports of nighttime sleep experience, and consider DNS a target for treatment.

Keywords: Narcolepsy; consolidated sleep; disrupted nighttime sleep; fragmented nighttime sleep; sleep fragmentation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow of citations during the review process
Figure 2
Figure 2. Comparison of the stages of sleep between patients with narcolepsy and normal controls
S1, stage 1; S2, stage 2; S3, stage 3; S4, stage 4; SWS, slow wave sleep. Frauscher et al., Jiménez-Correa et al., Mukai et al.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Benca RM. Narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness: diagnostic considerations, epidemiology, and comorbidities. J Clin Psychiatry. 2007;68(suppl 13):5–8. - PubMed
    1. Mamelak M. Narcolepsy and depression and the neurobiology of gamma hydroxybutyrate. Prog Neurobiol. 2009;89:193–219. - PubMed
    1. Dauvilliers Y, Bayard S, Shneerson JM, Plazzi G, Myers AJ, Garcia-Borreguero D. High pain frequency in narcolepsy with cataplexy. Sleep Med. 2011;12:572–6. - PubMed
    1. Vignatelli L, Plazzi G, Peschechera F, Delaj L, D'Alessandro R. A 5-year prospective cohort study on health-related quality of life in patients with narcolepsy. Sleep Med. 2011;12:19–23. - PubMed
    1. Jennum P, Knudsen S, Kjellberg J. The economic consequences of narcolepsy. J Clin Sleep Med. 2009;5:240–5. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types