MUSIC PLAYING: NARRATOR: We all have days where we're extra tired. But usually, a good night's sleep will set you straight. But what if you can't get enough quality sleep? That is what it feels like to have narcolepsy. When you hear the word "narcolepsy,"

you might immediately picture someone falling asleep in some unnatural position. These stereotypes go to show how little people understand about the condition.

HELENE EMSELLEM: There's been too much of narcolepsy being used as the butt of the joke. People think that sleepy people have been having way too much fun the evening before or that they're too lazy to stay engaged. NARRATOR: Narcolepsy is actually an ongoing condition that affects the part of your brain that helps you stay awake.

HELENE EMSELLEM: When we wake up in the morning, it's because the central regions of our brain have fulfilled the need for sleep and are now signaling wakefulness.

NARRATOR: Neurons in the hypothalamus release orexin, a brain chemical that helps keep us alert and prevents REM sleep from happening at the wrong time. The neurons play an essential role in keeping you awake. Unusually low levels of orexin keeps your brain from processing these wake signals, so you end up feeling sleepy all day.

HELENE EMSELLEM: In narcolepsy, we see REM spill into the daytime, unprovoked, when we don't want it there. And in rapid eye movement sleep, we are paralyzed.

NARRATOR: This can cause physical weakness and dreamlike hallucinations. The brain literally dreams while awake.

HELENE EMSELLEM: A patient with narcolepsy may not wake up cleanly. Their brains may awaken, but they may have episodes of sleep paralysis where they're awake but can't move yet.

NARRATOR: Patients also experience weird dreams during the day while awake in the form of hallucinations. There are two types of narcolepsy. Type 1 narcolepsy can cause excessive sleepiness and a sudden loss of muscle control called cataplexy.

HELENE EMSELLEM: Cataplexy is usually triggered by a significant emotional shift. They're usually awake and can hear what's going on.

NARRATOR: Type 2 narcolepsy, on the other hand, is mainly categorized by fatigue, but normal levels of orexin. People struggling with narcolepsy often struggle against public stigma.

HELENE EMSELLEM: And there's sometimes an avoidance of social circumstances because they don't want to fall asleep in public. NARRATOR: As the science digs deeper into the complex reasons behind the condition, treatment options are expanding.

HELENE EMSELLEM: There are treatments available to improve alertness and to manage cataplexy and narcolepsy. And we have medications available that allow for a much more sustained level of alertness.

NARRATOR: These treatments also reduce the symptoms of disturbed nighttime sleep.

HELENE EMSELLEM: There are ways to restore orexin functionality in the brain. Maybe at some time in the future, we could use stem cells to restore orexin in people who don't have it.

NARRATOR: Scientists are not entirely sure why orexin is missing. An explanation may be that the orexin cells are being destroyed by an autoimmune attack. HELENE EMSELLEM: Most patients with narcolepsy are left with the need to adapt to the residual symptoms, to adapt their lifestyle appropriately.

NARRATOR: The difference between the public perception versus the reality narcoleptic patients face every day is profound. However, with advances in research, accurate education, and increasing understanding, we can close this gap and change the lives of narcoleptic patients and their loved ones for the better.

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