The first major symptom of narcolepsy is excessive daytime sleepiness (Singh et al., 2013). All individuals with narcolepsy, including children and adults, show the symptom. Excessive daytime sleepiness negatively affects the normal activities of both children and adults. Adults with narcolepsy are usually unable to perform work activities effectively while children with the disorder are unable to function effectively in school. Children and adults who experience excessive daytime sleepiness report memory lapses, depressed moods, extreme exhaustion, low energy and concentration, and brain fog (Singh et al., 2013). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The second symptom of narcolepsy is cataplexy. Cataplexy is the sudden loss of muscle tone that causes an individual to feel weak and unable to voluntarily control their muscle tone. Both children and adults with narcolepsy experience cataplexy (Scammel, 2015). Cataplexy causes a loss of muscle tone in strong emotional reactions such as anger, surprise, joking and laughter. Loss of voluntary muscle control is experienced by individuals with narcolepsy, especially when awakening from a night's sleep or daytime nap. The severity of the muscle control injury is characterized by jaw relaxation, total paralysis accompanied by fainting, and buckling of the knees. The frequency of cataplexy in children is lower than in adults because individuals with narcolepsy experience a loss of voluntary muscle control more in adulthood than in childhood (Scammell, 2015). The third symptom of narcolepsy experienced by both children and adults is sleepiness. paralysis (Goswami, 2016). Sleep paralysis renders individuals with narcolepsy immobile while waking or falling asleep. It also makes it difficult for people to talk while waking up or falling asleep. Sometimes, when sleep paralysis occurs, people are unable to breathe and tend to panic. Sleep paralysis episodes do not last long as they last only a few minutes. According to Singh et al. (2013), 40% to 80% of people with narcolepsy experience sleep paralysis. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Another symptom of narcolepsy is hallucinations (Scammell, 2015) . The hallucinations experienced by narcoleptics tend to be vivid, and individuals are usually unable to describe what they see after hallucinating. Hallucinations experienced by narcoleptics typically occur when individuals wake up or at the onset of sleep. An example of hallucinations reported by narcoleptics is the sensation of being touched by a thing or person that is not real. According to Scammell (2015), 40% to 80% of narcolepsy patients experience hallucinations. Hallucinations are more common in narcoleptic adults than in children.