How the body's muscles accidentally fall asleep while awake - a debilitating sleep disorder

Normally muscles contract in order to support the body, but in a rare condition known as cataplexy the body's muscles "fall asleep" and become involuntarily paralyzed. Cataplexy is incapacitating because it leaves the affected individual awake, but either fully or partially paralyzed. It is one of the bizarre symptoms of the sleep disorder called narcolepsy. "Cataplexy is characterized by muscle paralysis during cognitive awareness, but we didn't understand how this happened until now, said John Peever of the University of Toronto's Department of Cell & Systems Biology...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia Source Type: news