Narcolepsy

One in 2,000 Americans suffers from narcolepsy, a little understood sleep disorder characterized by sudden loss of muscle control, inappropriate sleep patterns and constant drowsiness during wakefulness. Oddly, sudden stress, and even laughter, can cause a patient to fall into a twitching heap on the couch and drift into sleep (some will recall that River Phoenix's character in My Own Private Idaho suffered from narcolepsy). Produced as a class project by the University of California School of Journalism, this video feels amateurish and suffers from spending too much time talking about the experience of narcolepsy, and not enough on diagnosis and treatment. Even so, it's probably one of the few titles on this subject in existence, so its value cannot be entirely dismissed. Optional. Aud: C, P. (R. Ray)