Neurology

Tripping more often can be due to several reasons, like changes in how your foot moves or issues with balance, especially on stairs.

Tripping and falling can be caused by changes in how you walk or how high you lift your feet. These changes can make it easier to trip over things.

Feeling nauseous when moving your head can be due to how your inner ear and balance system respond to motion. This can happen in conditions like motion sickness or vertigo.

If you get headaches every night around the same time, some possible causes include cluster headaches or hypnic headaches. A healthcare provider can provide a personalized medical assessment to determine why you are experiencing these symptoms. The treatment plan to prevent or reduce symptoms will vary depending on the reason for your headaches.

Various factors can cause someone to often wake up with headaches. For example, people with migraines or cluster headaches can wake up with headaches. Another example is that heavy alcohol use in the evening can result in a headache the following morning. A third example is that a sleep disorder (such as sleep apnea or insomnia) can cause these symptoms. The steps to preventing these headaches depends on what is causing these symptoms. A healthcare provider can provide a personalized medical assessment and treatment plan to help you.

Tripping and falling can happen more if you have knee problems like osteoarthritis or if there are other unexplained reasons. It's important to understand why it happens to stay safe.

Headaches can get worse at night due to various reasons including poor sleep quality and/or what happens during your day. Understanding if your sleep habits or daytime routine affect your headaches can be a first step in managing your symptoms.

Tripping and falling can happen if your brain is busy with many tasks or if you have nerve problems in your feet.

People with narcolepsy usually start to experience symptoms as a child, teenager, or young adult, but occasionally narcolepsy can develop and be diagnosed in people who are older. A key sign of narcolepsy is excessive daytime sleepiness. Also, some (but not all) people with narcolepsy can experience episodes of sudden muscle weakness usually triggered by strong emotions.

Cataplexy is a sudden loss of muscle control linked to a certain type of narcolepsy (narcolepsy type 1). Episodes of cataplexy are often triggered by strong emotions like laughter, surprise, or anger.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes excessive daytime sleepiness. It disrupts normal sleep patterns and can make people feel very tired during the day. Some people with narcolepsy also experience sudden muscle weakness (called "cataplexy"), but not all people with narcolepsy will have episodes of cataplexy.

Narcolepsy can significantly impact daily life. Support is available to help reduce symptoms and impacts on daily life. Different countries and organizations (even within the same country) can differ in what they consider a disability. Whether narcolepsy is considered a disability can also vary based on how severely it impacts daily life.

Narcolepsy has a genetic component and can rarely run in families, but most narcolepsy is not inherited.

If you are wondering if you have narcolepsy, you can start by assessing whether you have symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness. For example, you can ask yourself if you have the sudden urge to sleep even after getting a full night's sleep, or if you fall asleep in the middle of eating, working, or talking with someone. To be certain about a diagnosis of narcolepsy, you will need to consult a healthcare provider. This healthcare provider will provide a personalized medical assessment of your symptoms. Also, the healthcare provider may recommend specialized sleep testing, such as the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (which evaluates how quickly you fall asleep in a quiet environment during the day).

Muscle weakness can be caused by a wide variety of health conditions, including but not limited to certain medications, long-term heavy alcohol use, and nerve or muscle problems. Also, the common causes of muscle weakness vary depending on whether the weakness affects muscles all over the body versus only part of the body (for example, weakness may only affect the legs or one leg). Another consideration is that the common causes of muscle weakness differ depending on a person's age. A healthcare provider can provide a personalized medical assessment of your muscle weakness symptoms in order to determine the exact cause and appropriate treatment plan.

To diagnose narcolepsy, a healthcare provider usually starts by asking you questions about your health, including questions about your sleep and sleepiness. The healthcare provider also will perform a physical examination of your body. After considering your answers to questions and your physical examination results, the healthcare provider might order some testing. One common approach often used for narcolepsy is a combination of tests. The first test is called polysomnography (PSG), which is an overnight test in a specialized test facility. The morning after the PSG, there is a second test called the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), which measures how quickly a person falls asleep in a quiet environment during the day.

Narcolepsy without cataplexy mainly causes excessive daytime sleepiness. In addition, some people with narcolepsy may experience sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and/or disturbed nighttime sleep, but not everyone with narcolepsy experiences these particular symptoms.

To diagnose narcolepsy, a healthcare provider usually starts by asking you questions about your health, including questions about your sleep and sleepiness. The healthcare provider also will perform a physical examination of your body. After considering your answers to questions and your physical examination results, the healthcare provider might order some testing. One common approach often used for narcolepsy is a combination of tests. The first test is called polysomnography (PSG), which is an overnight test in a specialized test facility. The morning after the PSG, there is a second test called the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), which measures how quickly a person falls asleep in a quiet environment during the day.

Narcolepsy type 1 is different from narcolepsy type 2 in two key ways. First, people with narcolepsy type 1 can experience cataplexy, which is episodic sudden muscle weakness usually triggered by strong emotions. Second, people with narcolepsy type 1 have low levels of a brain chemical called hypocretin (even if these individuals do not have cataplexy). In contrast, cataplexy and low hypocretin levels do not occur in narcolepsy type 2.

If you are wondering if you have narcolepsy, you can start by looking for symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness. These symptoms include having the sudden urge to sleep even after getting a full night's sleep or falling asleep in the middle of eating, working, or talking with someone. To be certain about a diagnosis of narcolepsy, you will need to consult a healthcare provider. This healthcare provider will provide a personalized assessment of your symptoms to determine if you have narcolepsy.