Some people cannot sleep lying down. They spin and turn, but they can’t get into the position they need to fall asleep. But as soon as they sit down in a chair with a book or in bed, sleep immediately sets in. In this position, people get enough sleep. So why does a person sometimes sleep while sitting?

If a person has some kind of unpleasant association of falling asleep lying down or has experienced great fear while falling asleep in bed, then in this position he becomes stressed, adrenaline is released into the blood and he cannot fall asleep.

Man sleeps sitting due to heart problems

People who have heart disease are forced to sleep sitting up. In a horizontal position, blood flow to the heart increases, the heart cannot cope, and the blood remains in the lungs. Therefore, a person instinctively takes a position that makes it easier for him to fall asleep and sleep, in this case - semi-vertical. As the disease progresses, the patient needs more and more pillows.

What to do?

Contact a cardiologist and get an ECG and ultrasound of the heart.

Man sleeps sitting due to stomach problems

Sometimes a person sleeps sitting up if he has a pathological condition of the stomach. People who suffer from heartburn sleep half-sitting. If a person lies down, reflux, heartburn occurs, and the contents of the stomach are thrown into the esophagus.

Most often this occurs with a hiatal hernia. If the hole in the diaphragm through which the esophagus enters is too large, a hernia occurs. The person often coughs because he is irritated. gastric juice esophagus.

What to do?

Do X-ray examination esophagus.

Man sleeps sitting due to headaches

It happens that a person has a headache when lying down. This alarming symptom. Which indicates that fluid is not leaking from the brain. There are cavities in the brain that are filled with fluid, this fluid constantly leaks out.

Brain cancer

Sleeping while sitting can be a consequence of headaches that occur when lying down.

What to do?

See a doctor and get a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain.

Apnea as a cause of sedentary sleep

There may be another reason, more typical for fat people- or holding your breath while sleeping. Sleep apnea occurs more often at night when a person is lying on his back. If the patient is very impressionable, under the influence of stress he may begin to be afraid to fall asleep while lying down.

Sleep while sitting in children

The situation for children is slightly different from for adults. Why does a child prefer to sleep sitting up? Very often, babies take this position due to night terrors that disrupt the process of falling asleep in bed.

Consequences of sedentary sleep

When a child or adult sleeps sitting up for a long period of time (more than one month), it can lead to certain consequences:

1. An uncomfortable posture leads to compression of the spinal arteries that supply blood to the brain. This leads to ischemia and disrupts night rest, causing drowsiness and a feeling of exhaustion after a night's rest.
2. Significant pressure on the vertebrae as a result of prolonged exposure to an uncomfortable position can lead to changes in spinal column and cause exacerbations of a number of diseases, including osteochondrosis.
3. Similar consequences that occur in older people can cause ischemic stroke.

Some people are faced with such an interesting and unpleasant problem when they cannot fall asleep while lying down. They twist, turn, change positions, wait for sleep, but it doesn’t come. But as soon as you sit down in a chair in front of the TV or with a book, a comfortable doze immediately appears and the person falls asleep. True, this dream is also not particularly deep due to the uncomfortable position and the sleeper can wake up from any sound, noise or awkward movement. But still, such a dream also fills all the necessary physiological needs body.

I can’t sleep lying down - the husband makes excuses to his wife. But even after sleeping while sitting, although it will function more easily and stably than after completely sleepless night, but will still feel a feeling of weakness, some drowsiness, and possibly a headache. But even in this state, the next night the person cannot fall asleep again in bed, but only while sitting. What is this condition and how to solve this problem to improve your quality of life?

There can be many reasons for this condition. The most common psychological root of the problem. If a person has some kind of unpleasant association of falling asleep lying down or has experienced a strong fright while falling asleep in bed, then in this position he begins to become stressed, adrenaline is released into the blood and he cannot fall asleep. When moving to a more protected place for it - a chair, the body relaxes and despite not always comfortable position body, under the influence of the desire to sleep, instantly falls asleep and sleeps as long as possible.

There are 2 possible ways to solve the problem:

• contact a psychotherapist and take a course, for example, auto-training or hypnosis;
• retrain yourself to fall asleep in a horizontal position. You can relearn using sleeping pills, or contact a somnologist and get a referral for procedures such as therapeutic sleep.

Also in the bedroom you need to create all the conditions for sleep: buy a comfortable orthopedic mattress, exclude all sound and light stimuli, use audio recordings with the murmur of water. You can put a real indoor waterfall in the bedroom, which will also humidify the air, which is very useful during the heating season.

Another reason for the inability to fall asleep while lying down may be one or another medical problems . For example, a person has gastroesophageal reflux, when when lying down, gastric contents are thrown back into the esophagus. From discomfort he wakes up or cannot sleep. This is a short-term phenomenon that requires treatment of the underlying disease.

There may be another reason, more typical for obese people - apnea or breath holding during sleep. Sleep apnea occurs more often at night when a person is lying on his back. If the patient is very impressionable, under the influence of stress he may begin to be afraid to fall asleep while lying down. In this case it is necessary integrated approach to solve the problem:

• You need to go on a diet to lower your body mass index and reduce the frequency of sleep apnea attacks. You can use intraoral devices to normalize sleep: mouthpieces or mouth guards to make breathing easier. You also need to contact a somnologist to find out if there is another reason for the occurrence of apnea - curvature of the nasal passages or swollen tonsils.
• You should not use sleeping pills during apnea, as they cause relaxation of the pharyngeal muscles, which will only increase the number of attacks;
• Need to decide psychological problem fear of falling asleep lying down, take a course of auto-training, etc.

Cardiovascular diseases

Patients with cardiovascular diseases often sleep in a half-sitting position - although not in a chair, but using many pillows under the lower back. Our body is a smart and harmonious system. He himself tells the person what position to take in order to alleviate physical discomfort.

When a person assumes a horizontal position, the flow to the heart increases venous blood. The heart, if there is heart failure, cannot cope with the abundant blood flow. It stagnates in the lungs, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing begin, which are easier to bear in an upright position. Therefore, a person instinctively takes a position that makes it easier for him to fall asleep and sleep, in this case - semi-vertical. As the disease progresses, the patient needs more and more pillows.

Excursion into history

It must be said that in the Middle Ages in Europe, and even in Russia, semi-sitting sleep was adopted. True, they slept not in armchairs, but in special shortened sleeping cupboards. The sleeping wardrobe of Peter the Great, who brought this habit to Europe, has been preserved in Holland. Such cabinets have been preserved in museums and castles in Romania, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, France, Dover Castle and Frederiksborg Castle. In the residence of Count Sheremetyev near Moscow, in Kuskovo, you can see shortened beds.

There are few reliable explanations for these phenomena. The most likely of them is that feasts and dinners in the 17th and 18th centuries lasted for a very long time, were accompanied by abundant fatty food and alcoholic libations, and protein food takes a very long time to digest. Therefore, falling asleep lying down after a rich feast was very difficult for the body, which is why people used such short beds. For hypertensive patients, sleeping half-sitting was clearly more gentle. However, the court ladies of Europe and Japan slept half-sitting in order to maintain their intricate hairstyles.

Why is it not good to sleep sitting up?

When a person spends large number time in a position that is not anatomically intended for sleep is harmful and the following complications may occur:

• compression of the vertebral arteries in an uncomfortable position can cause oxygen starvation of the brain, which is why a person, when waking up, will be lethargic, broken and incapable of working;
• compression of the vertebrae - the vertebrae will experience stress, which can lead to joint diseases. An uncomfortably turned head will lead to cervical osteochondrosis;
• both of the above factors can cause a stroke.

Therefore, if at some point in your life you realize that you can only fall asleep in a sitting position and the chair has become a bed for sleeping, this is a sufficient reason to consult a doctor to find the root of the problem and solve it as quickly as possible.

List of used literature:

• Elena A. Lyashenko, Michael G. Poluektov, Oleg S. Levin and Polina V. Pchelina Age-related Sleep Changes and its Implication in Neurodegenerative Diseases Current Aging Science, 2016, 9, pp 26-33 /li>
• Ivan N. Pigarev and Marina L. Pigareva The state of sleep and the current brain paradigm Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, October 2015, Volume 9, Article 139
• Ivan N. Pigarev and Marina L. Pigareva Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function
  Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, published: May 2014, Volume 8, Article 75

Various versions of the origin of the disease have been put forward, including some surprising ones (one German neurologist believed that the cause of narcolepsy was teenage masturbation). Some neurologists spoke about the psychosomatic origin of the disease, others considered it a manifestation of schizophrenia, and still others considered the cause to be disturbances in the neurochemical balance of the brain.

The true cause of narcolepsy was discovered quite recently, at the end of the twentieth century, it lies in the “breakdown” of the system that triggers the REM (paradoxical) sleep phase.

Our brain is a very complex “mechanism”. Even in Pavlov's laboratories it was proven that it contains deep structures responsible for sleep. There are also biologically active chemicals, facilitating the conduction of nerve impulses through neurons - neurotransmitters (neurotransmitters). When nervous system If a person functions correctly, then thanks to these substances we are in a non-sleeping state. But if there is a lack of them, the excitation impulses do not reach the neurons and the person falls asleep. Thus, large-scale research has made it possible to establish the most plausible cause of narcolepsy, which lies in the lack of certain types of neurotransmitters - orexin A and orexin B. The function of orexins is to maintain a state of wakefulness, and their lack is the cause of narcolepsy.

A breakdown of the REM sleep system and, accordingly, a lack of orexin is provoked by:

• brain injuries;
• infectious brain lesions;
• excessive fatigue;
• pregnancy;
• unstable emotional state, psychological trauma;
• malfunctions of the immune system;
• hormonal imbalance;
• diabetes mellitus;
• genetic predisposition.

In many cases, the cause of narcolepsy, that is, the factor that provoked paradoxical sleep disorder, remains unclear.

Signs of the disease

There are two mandatory symptoms of narcolepsy:

1. Falling asleep “on the go,” when a person suddenly falls asleep for no apparent reason. Most often this happens during monotonous work, but it is possible to completely unexpectedly fall asleep during a conversation, while walking, while watching a movie, or in any other situations. Such a dream usually lasts a few minutes, but when severe forms narcolepsy can last for hours.

2. Sudden involuntary relaxation of all muscles of the body (cataplexy), which occurs at the moment when a person experiences vivid emotions (laughter, surprise, rage, vivid memories, anxiety, a certain period of sexual intercourse). Cataplexy (loss of muscle tone) is rarely the first symptom of narcolepsy, and much more often it develops over the years.

In the first case, inhibition captures the cerebral cortex, but does not reach the lower parts of the brain, so the person falls asleep, but immobility does not occur. So, if he falls asleep while walking, then in a sleeping state he can walk for another 1-2 minutes and then wake up.

In the second case, the opposite happens. With normally preserved consciousness, immobility occurs. The person’s muscles relax, he simply falls, but still manages to find a place to fall, for example, sits down on a chair.

These are not all the symptoms of narcolepsy; many patients experience the full range of possible symptoms, including:

• sudden falling asleep and cataplexy (discussed above);
• vivid dreams up to hallucinations that are observed when falling asleep or waking up;
• immediately after waking up, a person cannot move for several seconds (this condition is called sleep paralysis);
• there is an urgent need for daytime sleep.

In addition, due to the absence of the slow-wave (deep) sleep phase, it is not uncommon for patients with narcolepsy to sleep poorly at night, their sleep is shallow, and they often wake up.

Symptoms of narcolepsy can develop over many years or occur all at once. However, you should not assume that if you have the symptoms listed above, then you necessarily have narcolepsy. These manifestations are also signs of many other diseases, but most often they can simply be temporary disorders due to stress, chronic fatigue, lack of sleep, etc.

Diagnosis and treatment of narcolepsy

Diagnosis is very important for any disease, narcolepsy is no exception. The symptoms of narcolepsy are similar to the symptoms of other disorders of the nervous system, therefore, before starting treatment for narcolepsy, you need to make sure whether this is it, and, first of all, exclude the possibility of a disease such as epilepsy. The treatment of narcolepsy and epilepsy is diametrically opposed, so making the correct diagnosis in this case is vitally important.

Both diagnosis and treatment of narcolepsy should be carried out under the strict supervision of a neurologist.

Diagnosis of the disease is quite complex and lengthy; it includes: polysomnography and MSLT test. Polysomnography is performed in a sleep laboratory, where the person must spend at least one night. Special electrodes are attached to it, with the help of which brain waves, muscle activity, heart rhythms, and eye movements are recorded. After polysomnography, the MSLT test is performed; it allows you to obtain the so-called sleep pattern, which differs between patients with narcolepsy and healthy people.

Narcolepsy - serious illness, it can significantly reduce the patient’s quality of life. Treatment for narcolepsy is sufficient difficult task. Unfortunately, today there are no treatment regimens that could completely eliminate the disease. But there are two groups of drugs that the doctor selects individually for each patient, and which temporarily relieve the symptoms of narcolepsy:

1. Drugs that stimulate brain function.

2. Drugs that weaken the inhibitory effect from the sleep zone in the brain.

And although the treatment of narcolepsy is mainly symptomatic, the patient himself can make efforts and adapt his life to the current situation as much as possible. It is necessary to normalize night sleep, establish a daily routine and wakefulness, and, most importantly, highlight certain time on nap.

Patients with narcolepsy are strictly prohibited from engaging in activities that are potentially dangerous to themselves and others, including: driving a car, working at heights, working with other moving mechanisms, night work etc.

American scientists have made a new step in the treatment of narcolepsy. They have developed a special nasal spray that contains orexin (a substance whose deficiency causes narcolepsy). Experiments on animals have confirmed the effectiveness of the drug, so there is a possibility that soon the theory that narcolepsy is incurable will become a thing of the past.

This article is posted for educational purposes only and does not constitute scientific material or professional medical advice.

Make an appointment with a doctor

The diagnosis is unreliable! CONTACT A GOOD NEUROPATOLOGIST!

or better yet, see a good psychiatrist!

For Inna. I understand and sympathize. It’s easier for me, I’ve been retired for a long time, I’ll soon be 70 years old. But last year and especially this winter I completely hibernate, like a bear. Crystal wellness only at night from 01.00 to 05.00 (four hours a day), provided that the rest of the time is to sleep. In general, I have had this since childhood, but before it was not so pronounced. Now we have to drag ourselves and the dogs to the store to get food so we don’t fall asleep on the way. My wife says I'll quit! Although, she herself is becoming more and more “infected” with the desire to sleep. This is how we live.

Sorry! Same story and also fired. As a rule, I switch off at the computer in the first half of the day and headache, and in the evening it’s cheerful..

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The information presented on our website should not be used for self-diagnosis and treatment and cannot serve as a substitute for consultation with a doctor. We warn you about the presence of contraindications. Specialist consultation is required.

An obese person always falls asleep as soon as he sits down. Why?

Situation: A friend often comes to see my husband for repairs. It has a live weight of at least 150 kilograms. It barely fits in the car. While he is being repaired, he sits in the garage and sleeps in a chair. I even fell several times. Well, at least not into the inspection hole. One day he was asked to drive a car out of the garage after repairs. He left. But the door does not open, the engine is running. The men came up - he was sleeping! I fell asleep in a few seconds! But there's more to come. Over the last 2 weeks, he fell asleep at the wheel 4 times. The first time I was taking my husband's partner home. He, sitting next to him, grabbed the steering wheel and kicked him in the side with his elbow. Thanks to this, we didn’t drive off the road. However, later he himself, being alone in the car, fell asleep 3 times. He was lucky twice. I just drove off and got stuck on the side of the road. But the third time I didn’t leave the truck driver. The car is like an accordion - he doesn't have a scratch. Probably, if I hadn’t slept, I would have killed myself to hell. A Belarusian truck driver was shocked by the severity of local drivers. Now it doesn't drive. Apparently God saved. He won’t kill himself while driving and won’t kill anyone. Only one thing is clear - he can’t drive. But he intends to restore the car.

That’s the real question - what’s wrong with him? What kind of disease is it and what is it called? How to treat this, and how to live with it?

I had such a problem (with a weight of 120), it was associated with sudden changes blood sugar, most likely a person at this weight already has diabetes, and there is also a hormonal (age-related and weight-related) imbalance, for example, testosterone. But you can’t joke with your health; it’s difficult to establish the cause of such a problem on your own, so without a proper examination of the body, a person not only risks, he also shortens his allotted age for a long time.

With the development of obesity, night sleep becomes restless, with periods of respiratory arrest, snoring, and muscle twitching. Daytime sleepiness is compensatory in nature. In addition, in obese people, fat deposits compress the vessels in the neck that supply the brain. When there is a lack of oxygen, the brain prefers to work with minimal costs. This condition is called Pickwick's syndrome and differs from narcolepsy in the absence of catalepsy (no falls) and hallucinations.

All signs will disappear when weight normalizes.

My relative (former traffic police officer) after a drunk driver dragged him along the highway for one and a half kilometers (the tablet caught on the driver’s seat while he was filling out a report, the driver hit the gas and rushed forward, and the traffic cop was pulled after him. It was a miracle that he was not dragged under the wheels and thrown into the oncoming traffic) - after this incident, I also began to fall asleep right on the move. I could fall asleep while standing in line, in the bathroom, and even fell asleep while eating!

He was treated for a long time. It’s good that his experience had already been completed (25 years), and he was able to retire. In general, spontaneous drowsiness is often observed in older people.

Grandparents always fall asleep in front of the TV, for example, but their sleep is superficial. shallow.

But in this case, the person clearly has something wrong with his blood vessels. We need to do Doppler ultrasound of blood vessels head and neck, check your blood for cholesterol, consult a neurologist, cardiologist and somnologist.

With narcolepsy, people often go into a phase deep sleep straight from wakefulness. There is often a genetic predisposition to such a disease; this symptom also occurs in mental illnesses. It is necessary to be examined, because the condition is very life-threatening.

Excess weight makes a person slow. It is difficult for him to bend, squat and even walk. So he looks for a way out in the elevator or in the car. He wants to sleep due to heavy workload. He gets tired quickly and needs sleep to regain his strength. And the car needs to be taken away from him, out of harm’s way. Once you were lucky, the second time, and the third time not. Will walk more, will lose weight extra pounds. His joy in life will return. In general, only one positive thing.

There is also such a disease (not only in “obese” people) called “Narcolepsy”, in which a person can fall asleep anywhere and anytime. A very scary thing. But it’s difficult to say what’s wrong with your friend; you need the help of a qualified specialist.

Most likely he has elevated blood pressure, but he doesn’t take medicine. At high blood pressure many people experience constant drowsiness. A overweight just helps to increase blood pressure.

Sleep disorder: narcolepsy, symptoms

The narcoleptic falls asleep several times a day short time in any circumstances under the influence of irresistible sleep.

Neurologists around the world have been studying the disease, first described in 1877 by the German neurologist Westphal, for more than a century.

Its name comes from the Greek words “stupor” and “attack”. The disease is quite rare, however total quantity There are quite a lot of people with narcolepsy in the world; in the USA alone there are more than 100 thousand of them.

Experts note the close relationship of the disease with genetic predisposition.

People susceptible to this disease and those around them often do not take it seriously.

Consider one of the cases described by Peter Hauri, an American somnologist:

Farmer Robertson, 36, has been experiencing three daytime sleep attacks since he was 17, lasting up to 15 minutes each. Friends regard his strange behavior as a sign of laziness.

But the farmer himself is worried about another feature of his: when he has to get angry with his children, scold them or punish them, he becomes overwhelmed severe weakness in the knees, which simply knocks him onto a chair or floor.

After seeking help from a psychotherapist, the patient was examined at a sleep clinic, where his daytime sleep was recorded. The examination showed that Robertson falls into the phase of paradoxical sleep directly from wakefulness, which is abnormal for healthy people. He was diagnosed with narcolepsy and treated successfully.

Narcolepsy attacks can affect the patient's relationships with others and their quality of life. Therefore, it is very important to recognize this disease in the early stages of development.

Symptoms of Narcolepsy

• Sudden and inevitable attacks of drowsiness

This is the most disturbing symptom and is the most characteristic. A narcoleptic attack occurs unexpectedly: during eating, sexual intercourse, driving a car or other transport, while swimming, which creates unpleasant or dangerous situations not only for the patient.

• Loss of muscle tone in striated muscles (cataplexy)

Let's remember the case of the farmer - muscle weakness, which doctors call cataplexy, manifested itself in moments strong emotions, anger. Cataplexy can even be triggered by unpleasant memories.

Healthy people may also experience a feeling of "weak knees" when they are scared or receive bad news. This is the body's natural reaction to a stressful situation.

In narcoleptics it is pathologically enhanced and can manifest itself in a weak form or complete collapse (fall). A person can fall silent in the middle of a conversation, drop a cigarette from his mouth, drop a fork from his hands, his body does not obey him: his arms hang like whips, his head droops, his legs give way, his jaw hangs, his tongue does not move.

The attack of immobility can stop instantly and the patient who has dropped the book manages to pick it up. It is interesting that at this time the narcoleptic is aware of what is happening, and his attention sharpens.

Cataplexy may not develop immediately after the onset of drowsiness, but some time later (months or years).

• Sleep paralysis

Another manifestation of narcolepsy is sleep paralysis. In a weak form it is expressed in a healthy person, in patients it is extremely strong. Patients feel immobilized for a short time, measured in seconds or a few minutes, and experience a feeling of severe anxiety.

Sleep paralysis occurs when falling asleep or waking up and can disappear with external touch. This condition can frighten the patient: he is in varying degrees is aware of the situation, but cannot move.

• Hypnagogic hallucinations (visual and auditory hallucinations falling asleep)

Vivid dream-like experiences in a state of active wakefulness, often unpleasant and scary. A person may imagine various monsters and all sorts of evil spirits crawling on him, but he can neither scream nor move.

The patient, being in a state of partial wakefulness and sleep at the same time, has no control over what is happening, which often frightens him.

A narcoleptic person performs ordinary everyday actions without conscious awareness. He may even fall asleep for a short time and continue to fall asleep, but after a while he will not remember what, how and when he did it.

The manifestation of this symptom can pose a potential threat to others.

In narcoleptics, not only daytime wakefulness is disrupted, interrupted by short episodes of uncontrollable sleep. Night sleep also proceeds abnormally and is characterized by high motor activity caused by frequent awakenings. Sleep may be interrupted for just a couple of seconds and the patient may not notice it.

In the morning he is completely exhausted and broken and cannot understand the reason, which is that frequent awakenings do not allow him to plunge into full-fledged fast or deep slow sleep and get the necessary rest. There are no boundaries separating the phases of rest and activity.

Narcoleptics do not have full daytime activity and are deprived of normal night sleep.

• TO associated symptoms Narcolepsy may include double vision, poor concentration, headaches, and memory loss.

Children susceptible to this disease often lag behind in their development. Adults may have problems performing professional duties.

Symptoms of the disease may develop gradually over time or occur all at once.

In healthy people, paradoxical sleep begins 60–90 minutes after falling asleep, muscle tone gradually disappears.

The narcoleptic falls into paradoxical sleep instantly and can also quickly lose muscle control. Sudden attacks daytime sleep occurs with characteristic features: loss of muscle tone, sleep paralysis, vivid hallucinations - dreams.

Patients do not have a clear separation of wakefulness and paradoxical sleep.

Vogel, an American scientist, believes that healthy person dreams in order to sleep, and the narcoleptic sleeps in order to dream. With the help of an unexpected transition to sleep, they escape from reality and from conflict situations.

Narcoleptics remember their dreams well and talk about them with pleasure. The proportion of REM sleep in the patient is increased, and slow sleep is decreased.

Causes of drug forest

There is no exact answer about the causes of narcolepsy yet. Genetic predisposition is noted by experts as one of the most important prerequisites for this disease.

The sleep of people suffering from narcolepsy is similar in many ways to the sleep of newborns: overly active and uncoordinated - without stages of drowsiness and sleep spindles.

In both infants and narcoleptics, the thalamohemispheric system of the brain, which is responsible for organizing slow sleep, is weakened, and the hemispheric-trunk, responsible for REM sleep, on the contrary, is strengthened. By continuously producing REM sleep (in fragments or completely), it prevents the narcoleptic from either sleeping or staying awake normally.

What factors or causes lead to disruption of the sleep-wake cycle? Biochemists and geneticists will have to answer this question. In the meantime, narcolepsy is entirely under the control of neurologists, who offer patients medication and psychotherapeutic treatment.

Treatment for this disease should include proper organization wakefulness-sleep regime: go to bed and get up in the morning, preferably at the same time.

Repeated short naps during the day are useful, 20-30 minutes each episode, which will provide required level activity.

• You should be careful when performing potentially dangerous actions: driving a car and other vehicles, working with electrical appliances. Plan your day so that someone can be with you at this time.
• Assigned drug treatment Perform carefully and report any changes in your health to your doctor.
• Ask your doctor to have an explanatory conversation with your family members if they underestimate the seriousness of the disease and attribute its manifestations to laziness and other things. Family support is very important.
• It is not recommended to hide from your employer that you suffer from narcolepsy. The employer will provide the necessary working conditions if you are a valuable employee.
• Meeting people susceptible to this disease will provide moral support - find or create a support group for narcoleptics in your city.
• Pay special attention to your child if he also has narcolepsy. Teachers and coaches should know about this in order to help and protect in difficult or dangerous situations.

An interesting fact: not only people, but also dog breeds such as Labradors, Dachshunds and Dobermans are susceptible to this disease. They exhibit the same symptoms as humans: sudden daytime sleep, cataplexy, etc.

I wish you and your pets health and suggest you watch a short and funny video about a pug who reacts vividly to a TV show.

Elena Valve for the project Sleepy Cantata.

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Hello, I am 21 years old and I suffer from lack of sleep. It all started in the army, when I was put on duty in a company, and within 24 hours I went on duty. I often didn’t sleep for days and then it started happening to me. I fell asleep all the time during the day, standing, sitting, and once I even fell asleep while walking, without even realizing it. Also, sometimes when I talk to a person I have attacks of paralysis for a second, and it often happens when I laugh. Many people say that I laugh in my sleep. But they became so colorful, rich as in reality and became so long that this has never happened before. I also fall asleep while driving, but I feel myself falling asleep and immediately look for a place to stop. I consulted with a doctor, she told me to drink glycine, I’ve been drinking for a month now and there haven’t been any significant changes, I just noticed that I’m not starting to lose power so sharply. During the day I can sleep all day, but at night I am alert and seem to not need sleep. Well, now after the army it’s all the same, and glycine has become easier, but I’m still tired of it, I want a normal life.

Yes. I also had to face this problem. Tell me which specialists I should contact. what is it connected with? could it be a heart problem?

Victoria, the cause of narcolepsy has not been established; scientists suggest that the main prerequisite for the occurrence of the disease is genetic predisposition. See neurologists or specialists who diagnose and treat complex sleep disorders.

I wrote a higher post here (I’m 30, and I’ve been nodding off for about 10 years now.). I forgot to say that when it “cuts” (an attack of such drowsiness occurs), it does not look like simply falling asleep, at that moment it “cuts out” with such force that it looks like a heavy dose of sleeping pills or anesthesia. And at the same time there is a feeling that you yourself want to relax and... It is possible that this even looks like a drug “high” (although I have never tried drugs myself and cannot say for sure), but the sensations when falling asleep are so pleasant that if you relax, you immediately forget not only where you are, but even your name and who you are. It is very difficult to overcome this when you work at a computer. Although small physical activity(got up, walked around, stretched.) temporarily helps.

Although who knows, maybe this is normal? I work at a computer, my work is monotonous, with numbers, graphs, technical documentation (most often these are kilometers of columns with numbers/data that I have to parse). Maybe it’s just monotony that affects me this way, because sitting in the twilight in an empty room and reading interesting book for 4-6 hours, it doesn’t “cut” me! And even when stuck in a traffic jam for a long time, it still doesn’t “cut” with such force as at work.

Thank you very much for detailed explanations. It’s very bad that I found out about this disease so late. I've had this problem for a long time, since school. But I just didn’t suspect that it could get worse.

Now I can switch off when I’m talking to someone.

I have already explained my condition to doctors and psychiatrists and neurologists, but they blame everything on depression and chronic diseases which I still have besides everything else.

But I still understood something from your statements, and took note.

Forget-me-not, doctors, unfortunately, cannot always help. Fortunately, each of us has a remedy that is effective, but most importantly, safe. This is our self-hypnosis, our connection with our “I”, with our subconscious. The cause of the disease may lie in your fear of life; affirmations can help:

“I completely trust the very process of life and move freely in it,”

“Life was created for me, I move freely in it and trust the very process of life.”

Control all your thoughts, think that you are able to control every moment of your life and fall asleep only at your own discretion.

Go to church, pray to the icons for the illness to go away, order a prayer service for your health.

Dear Forget-Me-Not, believe in your healing, it will definitely come. All the best to you.

I'm 17 years old, and it's been bugging me for 2 years. At first I thought it was because I didn’t sleep much at night, although it seemed like I always went to bed and woke up at the same time. At first I fell asleep at school at my desk, but then all hell broke loose: I began to fall asleep wherever possible, in the cinema, at the computer, while studying and even walking down the street. I try not to go out and walk with people, because I’m afraid that it will start to “knock out” again. I can’t communicate normally with new people, because they are scared that I fall asleep like that, they think I’m some kind of drug addict or crazy. This is simply unbearable, I don’t know how to live further with this disease, because I really want to learn, develop and explore the world, but this is not possible for me because of sleep. My memory has deteriorated, I stopped understanding a lot of things, I can no longer do things on the spot like I used to. I'm afraid to go study for my license, in case I fall asleep and crash. And after all this, I decided to undergo an examination, they did a sleep analysis and the diagnosis of narcolepsy was confirmed. They prescribed some pills, but I need to take them constantly and I’m afraid that I’ll get used to them and become like a drug addict. What should I do?

Vlad, accept reality as it is, but don’t lose heart. Tablets for at the moment will support your health. After all, they are better than falling asleep in unexpected situations. Continue treatment and look alternative methods. Find and study the necessary literature; you are unlikely to find the right advice on the Internet. Contact To higher powers asking for help to overcome this disease, the answer will definitely come. Books that can help include Sinelnikov’s “Love Your Illness,” Louise Hay’s “Heal Your Body,” and many other psychologists. Many diseases, if not caused by heredity, are acquired due to an incorrect worldview. Try to understand yourself. Sleep is an escape from reality. How long have you been experiencing symptoms of uncontrollable falling asleep? Is there an unpleasant situation associated with this period? This may reveal the cause of the disease and the path to cure.

I'm 30, and I've been nodding off for about 10 years now. I always want to sleep, which makes it difficult to concentrate. When I perform some active actions, it somehow drives the blood and then I may not notice my drowsiness. But with not very active actions, sleep begins to “cut” me. Even with a slow-moving traffic jam (I turn on heavy metal so as not to sleep). Now I work in an office and drink liters of coffee. I’m training my will, it’s gotten to the point where when I had kidney surgery, they gave me general anesthesia intravenously and could not “knock me out” in any way. Attacks of drowsiness occur several times a day (3-4), it knocks me out so much that I begin to see double. I hold on to my consciousness with all my strength and let it go, but my head begins to pound. The tone usually appears after 16 hours, productivity at work immediately increases, etc. By the evening, if I slept at least 7-8 hours last night, I do not experience any drowsiness, I feel a surge of energy and a thirst for activity. If I don’t go to bed, I’m in good shape until 4 am. But usually I go to bed at 11, usually 12 at night and get up at 7-7:30. Once I conducted an experiment on myself - I just wanted to get some sleep and slept from 15:00 on Friday to 12:00 on Monday with breaks for the toilet and still did not get enough sleep. When I fall asleep, dreams (with sound and color) come instantly, I just have to close my eyes, but at this moment I am still consciously able to control my body and even describe what I see and hear, while hearing what is happening around me.

What is this? Narcolepsy or am I just a night owl out of my cycle?

Sergey, it is quite possible that you are an owl “in a cycle that is not yours.” In this case, changing your job to another with a more suitable schedule can help.

If you exhibit symptoms of narcolepsy, you need to go to specialists who can identify the disease.

I think we need to start with an examination. Searching for answers on the Internet will not guarantee that you will diagnose yourself correctly.

I haven't been able to control my sleep since junior high school. Now I am already 22 years old. I constantly fell asleep in class, even when I was interested, and sometimes my brain simply turned off due to monotony. At the same time, it was necessary not to fight in front of anyone, because the teachers cursed, and the peers joked and then teased me as soon as this happened again. Then my body began to recover on its own as the tone weakened. because of this, you seem to be sleeping and at the same time aware of what is happening around and with you. and at night the same. You hear something when you say something in your sleep, you move your arms and legs. to my young man sometimes it is difficult to sleep with me, and sometimes he becomes afraid. The last time he said that in a dream I had a cramp and my hand clenched as if it were my heart. my fingers did not open, I did not wake up and stopped breathing for 30 seconds. Of course I'm all for it for a long time I learned to live with this feature. But in the last 2-3 weeks everything became somehow different. worse. Just like when I was a distant child, literally yesterday I fell asleep while walking and couldn’t control it. in the subway. Trying to move away from the edge of the platform and not being able to really do it, I realized that I was starting to fall asleep and that I would start falling onto the rails. and today. Previously, visuals came at moments when I was completely exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep and you held on with all your might. Today.. strange condition.. I haven’t been involved with substances for a very long time. but in an absolutely normal state, I looked at photographs of my friends and acquaintances and they seemed to be in reality in space. there was a feeling that they were continuing the movement that they were performing in the photo. move and become three-dimensional in real space. like in 3D or something.

In general, this is not a healthy topic.

thanks for the article! I will definitely visit a neurologist.

Emotional and mental fatigue impairs my ability to remember information. Problems in my personal life and being stuck at work have exhausted my body. The employee persuaded me to take Biotredin (thought it was an antidepressant). It really improved my condition, and there is no dependence on it.

I have been suffering from a similar disease for ten years now. I am 65. About 35 years ago I was in a car accident in Moscow. Severe concussion, the torn out eye was sewn on in Sklif. Vision was preserved. The family laughed at first, but then they began to take it more seriously. I can suddenly fall asleep in the toilet, during lunch, rub my face into a hot cup of tea, into a computer keyboard, on the corner of a table, etc. The most unpleasant thing is that this happens at concerts, in cinemas, when watching action films, listening to loud music. By profession I am a film director. He has made many documentaries and feature films. Now, having a pacemaker and second-degree diabetes, he is forced to lead a secluded life in a remote Smolensk village. I have undergone many examinations, but there are no prescriptions for today, or are there? The article is good, but without hope. Vitaly.

When traditional medicine I have made diagnoses and are unable to help, it’s time to take up self-healing. Vitaly, don’t give up and don’t lose heart. I advise you to get acquainted with the health systems of Shatalova, Boyarshinov (AGGS), Norbekov, read Sinelnikov, Louise Hay. Any disease is a consequence of our wrong mental attitudes, and, of course, nutrition and lifestyle.

All the best to you!

So how to treat this disease, are there any ways and which doctor should I contact if necessary?

Like any disease, narcolepsy is best treated in the early stages. You, Andrey, should contact a neurologist or a specialist who diagnoses and treats complex sleep disorders.

I had periods when I literally fell asleep on the go.

But it seems that overwork played such a role.

Now, I definitely need to get at least 8 hours of sleep to feel full of energy.

Otherwise, I’ll be like boiled chicken again. 🙂

I also remember such a period when I was studying at the institute, I fell asleep during sessions on the go. At night he also worked part-time at sabbaths. Thank God that these are temporary manifestations of drowsiness, and not permanent, as described in the article.

Yes, this disease occurs not only in people - I recently saw a program on Discovery about a dog who falls asleep from a loud sound, for example, clapping his hands.

Never heard of this insidious disease like narcolepsy. Thank you!

Saw documentary about this disease, strange and terrible, because the life of not only this person, but also the people around him is in danger.

When my driving experience was just beginning, I very often experienced drowsiness while driving, apparently under the influence of the monotony of the road. A couple of times I just fell asleep, but both times everything ended well, thank God. Now even if I didn’t get enough sleep while driving, this doesn’t happen.

I forgot about it as soon as I left the night shift.

I even watched a program about such people. a very dangerous disease.

It turns out that a person cannot control himself. It's very scary. And it turns out there are so many of them, I didn’t know.

Yes, it’s unpleasant, especially while driving or if such attacks make a person dependent on carrying out his or her duties. functional responsibilities, such as a doctor, a teacher, and it’s simply difficult for a person with a disease to live.

My dad sleeps all the time, even while driving. This can hardly be called narcolepsy. He has no other signs, but who knows.

Yeah! If it's simple chronic lack of sleep, then the matter is fixable, but the symptoms are different! But in the case of narcolepsy, a completely different approach is required. Well, at least they highlighted it in separate disease, and do not write it off as laziness or carelessness. Such people need to be seriously treated, otherwise grief will befall them, those around them and their relatives. An interesting article, presented in detail, absolutely creepy, as you can imagine.

There are so many diseases! This is the first time I’ve read about such a pathology. I really sympathize with people who suffer from this disease.

Probably, before making such a diagnosis, you need to look at whether it is just a simple chronic lack of sleep. And if it’s lack of sleep, then the situation can be easily corrected. When I chronically didn’t get enough sleep, I fell asleep standing on the bus.

How many tragedies happen on the roads if a driver falls asleep at the wheel. Unfortunately, almost no one pays attention to this disease, citing the fact that they are simply tired and have not slept much. It's a pity.

You are absolutely right, Evgeniy. A friend of mine often falls asleep in any circumstances, but chalks it up to fatigue and lack of sleep.

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Be sure to consult with a specialist so as not to harm your health!

What kind of disease is this? A person only has to sit down, and even though he constantly falls asleep, even though his neck falls off

Another manifestation of the disease is cataplexy: a person suddenly falls silent in the middle of a conversation, things fall out of his hands, and his legs give way. Consciousness does not leave him, but he is unable to utter a word or move his hand - his muscles relax. The attack lasts several seconds, sometimes minutes. Often patients do not even have time to fall, but having dropped the object from their hands, they pick it up. The most surprising thing is that attacks of cataplexy most often occur against the background of a joyful, happy mood, and their most reliable provocateur is sincere laughter. For some, pain attacks occur especially persistently when they themselves tell something funny. However, it is not possible to provoke an attack of arbitrariness with “artificial laughter”. “Polite” laughter is also safe for the sake of decency - but laughter from the heart very quickly ends in a fit!

Another form of the disease - periodic hibernation - has been known to doctors since time immemorial. A medical work from 1672 describes the poet Epiminides of Crete, who allegedly slept in a cave for 57 years. It is hardly worth fully believing this period, but cases of hibernation that lasted two decades are completely reliable. True, they are very rare and are consequences of severe mental illness. Here's a week-long or even three-week hibernation - not so much rare occurrence. Probably, the roots of this disease go very deep: it has much in common with the condition that, for example, bears and gophers fall into in winter, when there is little food, and some amphibians - in summer, when water bodies dry up. Human body temperature is reduced during hibernation, blood pressure Same. They do not eat or drink for several days - as a result, tissue dehydration occurs, and patients suddenly lose weight. The muscles completely relax, reflexes sometimes completely disappear. It is impossible to wake up such patients.

In a sitting position. This happens to those who do not go to bed on time, sit too long at work or watch TV. But such a dream does not give good rest, after it a person feels overwhelmed and sleep-deprived. It seems that sleeping in a sitting position is contraindicated for a person.

The harm of sleeping in a sitting position

The need to sleep lying down is associated with the upright posture inherent in humans. While awake, people are in an upright position, maintaining which requires significant muscle tension. In addition, with this position of the body, the force of gravity is stronger on it. The area of ​​contact with the atmospheric air above the body in an upright creature is much higher than in those animals that move on four limbs, therefore, the pressure exerted by the air column on human body, quite large. This creates heavy load on the spine.

In order to withstand all these colossal loads throughout life, the human body must periodically rest from them. This is only possible when a person accepts supine position: the muscles relax, the effect of gravity and the pressure of the air column decreases.

Some people prefer to sleep sitting up. This is what Salvador Dali did, for example. But this case can be called an exception that proves the rule: Dali’s paintings are characterized by strange, bizarre images bordering on madness, reminiscent of nightmares. Perhaps, not the least role in the formation of such a worldview was played by bad dream associated with the habit of sleeping while sitting. It is not worth following the example of a great artist: you may not create masterpieces, and your nervous system will certainly suffer from chronic lack of sleep.

For whom is it harmful to sleep lying down?

And yet, there are people whom doctors do not recommend sleeping in a lying position. We are talking about those who suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Due to some features circulatory system When a person lies down, the flow of venous blood to the heart increases. This situation requires increased oxygen supply to the heart. A healthy cardiovascular system copes with this successfully, but when coronary disease heart, when the blood supply to this organ is impaired, a lack of oxygen can provoke an attack of angina or even a heart attack. A heart attack while asleep is especially dangerous, because a sleeping person cannot take medicine or call for help. Sometimes such patients die of a heart attack without waking up.

Of course, it is also impossible for such patients to sleep sitting, but they are recommended to sleep in a semi-sitting position: legs extended, torso reclined on pillows at an angle of approximately 45 degrees.

A chair in a dream is a symbol of health, family, and life. To see a soft, high-quality, expensive chair in a dream is a sign of prosperity, family well-being, good health, peace. Seeing a wicker, unstable, fragile chair in a dream is a harbinger of anxiety, the need to think about tomorrow due to lack of funds. Sometimes such a dream predicts the need to work hard to live. If you dream that you are sitting in such a chair, then your health will deteriorate. The same thing means a dream in which you see wheelchair or a rocking chair. A broken, dirty, falling apart chair in a dream foreshadows poverty, discord in the family, the breakdown of life's foundations, and loss of peace. Seeing a very large chair with huge soft pillows in a dream means that your situation will change for the better. There will be a person who will take upon himself to protect your interests and take care of your well-being. A strange chair in a dream means that you will find yourself in unusual place or get a strange offer and it will surprise you. A dream in which you saw that such a chair was brought into your home means that you will put yourself in an extraordinary position and great luck awaits you. Seeing a rocking chair in a dream foretells relaxation, a cozy home, harmony in the house. See interpretation: throne.

Dream Interpretation - Rocking chair

The rocking chair you dreamed about will bring you friendly warmth and a feeling of confidence and peace in any environment.

If you dream of a mother, wife or lover resting in a rocking chair, it means. You are promised the sweetest earthly joys.

If you dream of empty rocking chairs, this is a prediction of bereavement and loneliness. Anyone who has such a dream will undoubtedly suffer some misfortune.