[ Background Music ]

>> Welcome back.

We are bringing you some
of the most compelling

"Mysteries of the Mind" tonight.

And this one strikes
during adolescence

and makes otherwise
normal teenagers collapse.

Not just into a deep sleep, but
into a mysterious netherworld,

a world filled with
hallucination, paralysis,

and strange sensations that
strike without warning,

linger without a cure,
and can last a lifetime.

[ Music ]

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>> An insatiable need for sleep.

Sudden episodes of paralysis,
vivid hallucinations,

this is the life
of a narcoleptic.

>> I don't really even
remember a whole lot

of my sophomore year
just because I slept

so much through my classes.

>> Anthony Raymond was
your normal high school kid

who loved acting and the theater
then his life mysteriously

started to change.

>> I just started feeling
sleepy throughout the day.

I didn't think much of it.

I just thought it was
some weird puberty thing.

[ Background Noise ]

>> Occasional daily naps turned
into a constant need for sleep

that he could never satisfy.

>> I was sleeping every
chance I could get.

In addition, I started
experiencing these other weird

symptoms like sleep
paralysis at night.

>> And what is it exactly?

>> I'll be lying down, and all

of a sudden I can't move
any part of my body.

And usually what will accompany
this are these hallucinations,

which not only do I see
things and hear things,

but I also feel things.

I can remember one time
being completely paralyzed

and feeling a fox kind
of crawl under my back.

>> Can you scream when you
are paralyzed like that?

>> No. I can't scream.

>> You can't move
your body at all?

>> But eventually
I break out of it

and I will scream or something.

[ Inaudible Remark ]

[ Background Talking ]

>> And then there's
the most difficult

and potentially dangerous
symptom

of narcolepsy, cataplexy.

At any given moment
Anthony would collapse.

He would be paralyzed
for minutes at a time.

>> Probably the scariest
thing is falling to the ground

and not being totally sure
that you are going to fall

in a position where
you can breathe.

I could fall in a space where
my face might be smothered

by a cushion or something.

>> In extreme cases,
like this Scottish girl,

it can happen more than 45
times a day, usually brought

on by emotional excitement like
laughing, anger or surprise.

Experts estimate
that at least half

of narcoleptics have cataplexy.

For Anthony, these sometimes
daily episodes make driving,

working, and dating
nearly impossible.

>> It starts in the
neck and the tongue,

unable to move those parts.

And then it goes to the
legs and then eventually,

you can't move anything.

>> And there's nothing you can
do to pull yourself out of it?

>> Nothing I can do except wait.

I can try really hard to
move and every now and then,

I'll gain just enough
strength that I might be able

to jerk my arm up or something.

>> And are you consciously
thinking I'm going to ride this

out for another minute?

>> Yeah. It's just kinda
like that bad dream

where you can't move
and you can't scream.

>> Anthony's was
really a classical case

when he came to me.

This is a perfect slide here.

[ Background Talking ]

>> Dr. Emmanuel Mignot
is Anthony's doctor

and the director of
Center for Narcolepsy

at Stanford University.

He says that despite all
the sleep Anthony gets,

he's never well rested.

>> They are exhausted
all the time.

They take little naps,
they feel better.

But then after one hour or two
hours, it just starts again.

And at night the same thing,
just exhausted and they arrive

in their bed, boom,
they sleep and then

after two hours they wake
up unable to fall asleep.

Basically the cause of
narcolepsy is very simple.

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>> Narcoleptics can't
produce a brain chemical

called Hypocretin.

Normally it helps
you stay awake.

Without it narcoleptics
constantly fall it REM

or dream sleep, but
they do not fall

into the deep restorative
stages of sleep so they wake

up too soon, and wake up tired.

The mystery, what
causes the death

of these precious brain cells?

And why does it often
happen during adolescence?

The other mystery,
how to restore

or replace those cells
and cure narcolepsy?

Fortunately, doctors
have developed drugs

to treat the symptoms.

>> It's kind of gross,
but it does the trick.

>> Every day and every night,
Anthony takes a carefully-

prescribed mix of drugs.

>> I have got about 20
minutes and I'll be asleep.

>> One drug gets
Anthony's brain and body

into a deep restorative
sleep, so he's well rested.

It also helps reduce cataplexy,
but it doesn't work for long.

Anthony needs a second dose
in the middle of the night.

>> It is 2:11 a.m.
and I am awake again.

>> Anthony also needs a
stimulant during the day

and antidepressants to ease
his constant sleepiness

and cataplexy.

>> OK, it's now 7:30 in
the morning and I just--

[ Background Talking ]

>> But even with
all those drugs,

Anthony can only stay
awake for about six hours

at a time during the day

so he must follow a
strict daily nap schedule.

[ Background Music ]

>> The first is in mid-morning,

usually in his first
or second class.

Anthony closes his eyes
for 15 to 20 minutes.

>> If he's sleeping, he's
going to miss something

but I think he more than
compensates for that.

>> He also has to take a nap the
minute he gets home from school.

>> If I postpone
a nap long enough,

I just can't really function.

>> But no matter what
medication he takes,

or how many naps he has, Anthony
still has occasional bouts

of cataplexy.

[ Inaudible Remark ]

[ Background Talking ]

>> See his bobbing head here?

This one happened while
he was watching a comedy.

But despite all these
challenges,

Anthony still has big
plans for the future.

He starts college in September
and hopes to become a teacher.

With no cure on the
horizon, Anthony is ready

for a life he knows
will be a nonstop,

24-hour game of beat the clock.

>> I can live the rest
of my life like this.

Narcolepsy is a problem,
but it's not the worst thing

in the world for me
that could happen.

And I'm still living.

>> And you know you
can handle it.

>> Yeah.

>> And Anthony is doing a whole
lot more than just handling it.

He happens to be thriving.

He is far from alone
though when it comes

to struggling with narcolepsy.

The disorder effects
about 135,000 Americans.

Now in most cases,
symptoms first appear

between the ages of 10 and 25.

We're gonna take a short break.

We'll be right back.