Secondary Symptoms
Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Hallucinations
Intense vivid experiences at the beginning or end of sleep respectively,
which may be auditory, tactile, or colour visual and indistinguishable
from reality or, on the contrary, dreamlike or even nightmarish
Sleep Paralysis
Loss of muscle control to the extent of total inability to move, which
happens either at the start of night-time sleep or on arousal from
sleep; it can also occur after a voluntary nap or daytime sleep episode.
This symptom can be particularly fightening
Automatic Behaviour
Routine activities are carried on with diminished awareness, as if on
'autopilot'. Sometimes with an element missing, which makes the result
nonsensical e.g. pouring milk into a teapot. The patient is usually
unable to recall details of the episode.
A particularly exasperating aspect of automatic behaviour is that it leads to the situation where one partner complains that the other has forgotten an important appointment or something similar, while the other partner maintains vociferously that he was never told about the appointment. In fact both partners are correct. The first made the mistake of telling the other when he/she was in automatic behaviour and responding with grunts or even a 'yes' as if the message was received and therefore the narcoleptic can claim quite genuinely that he/she was not told!
Disrupted Nocturnal Sleep
Episodes of wakefulness during the night, some of intense alertness,
accompanied by elevated body temperature and faster heartbeat. The
repeated awkening and resultant poor quality sleep can contribute to the
excessive daytime sleepiness noted the following day.