Narcoleptics never really sleep.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
Many narcoleptics are misdiagnosed as insomniacs, but we have a specific neurophysiological deficit that keeps us from 'sleeping' at night, and makes us chronically tired during the day. This condition is known as EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness). Narcoleptics often experience a condition known as cataplexy, it's an uncontrollable loss of muscle function, and the source of most of the 'common knowledge' about narcolepsy.
We're specifically diagnosed by a heightened concentration of a peptide called Hypocretin in our CSF.
http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/ex
If I manage to finish my Ph.D, I intend to study this protein complex for the rest of my life.
When we do sleep, we're constantly in REM. Most humans experience a fourth sleep stage, where they actually rest, narcoleptics don't get to do that. Their brains are as active while sleeping as when awake.
So, asleep/awake, it really doesn't matter much to me, it's really all the same, I need to sleep, but I physically can't, or I'm physically exhausted and I can't sleep.
0 comments:
Post a Comment