Narcolepsy and Snoring

Feeling sleepy all day despite getting enough sleep can be difficult to explain, especially when it starts affecting work, driving, conversations, or everyday life. At the other end of the night, loud or persistent snoring can disturb your sleep without you even realizing it.

At King’s College Hospital Dubai, our Sleep Medicine team assesses and treats sleep disorders including narcolepsy and snoring. The aim is to understand what is happening while you sleep, find the cause of your symptoms, and help you get the right treatment.

What is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control when you are awake and when you sleep.

The most noticeable symptom is usually excessive daytime sleepiness. Someone with narcolepsy may feel an overwhelming need to sleep during the day or may fall asleep unexpectedly, even after what seemed like a full night’s sleep.

Some people also have cataplexy, which means strong emotions like laughter or surprise can cause sudden muscle weakness. Other symptoms include sleep paralysis, vivid dreams as you fall asleep or wake up, and broken sleep at night.

Narcolepsy can sometimes be mistaken for tiredness, stress, poor sleeping habits, or another sleep disorder, which is why a proper assessment is important.

What Causes Snoring?

Snoring happens when air cannot move freely through the nose and throat while you sleep. The surrounding tissues vibrate as you breathe, creating the familiar snoring sound.

Snoring once in a while is normal. But if your snoring is loud, happens often, or wakes others, it should be checked, especially if someone notices you stop breathing or you wake up tired.

Snoring can be linked to several factors, including nasal congestion, the anatomy of the nose or throat, sleeping position, weight, alcohol consumption, and obstructive sleep apnea.

Importantly, snoring and sleep apnea are not the same thing. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, but loud snoring can be one of its warning signs.

When Should You See a Sleep Specialist?

It may be worth speaking to a sleep specialist if your sleep is starting to interfere with normal life.

Symptoms we commonly assess include:

• Feeling tired throughout the day, even when you thought you slept well
• Dozing off when you don’t mean to
• Finding it hard to keep your eyes open at work, while watching TV, or during quiet parts of the day
• Sudden episodes of muscle weakness triggered by emotion
• Sleep paralysis or unusually vivid dreams around sleep
• Loud, persistent snoring
• Waking up choking or gasping
• Someone noticing pauses in your breathing while you sleep
• Morning headaches or a dry mouth
• Waking up tired even after several hours of sleep
• Difficulty concentrating during the day

Daytime sleepiness can have many causes, so having one of these symptoms does not automatically mean you have narcolepsy or sleep apnea.

How Are Narcolepsy and Snoring Diagnosed?

Your assessment usually starts with a detailed conversation about your sleep. Your doctor may ask when you go to bed, how easily you fall asleep, whether you wake during the night, how you feel during the day, and whether anyone has noticed snoring or unusual breathing while you sleep.

Depending on your symptoms, further testing may be recommended.

King’s has a dedicated Sleep Lab at Dubai Hills Hospital where sleep can be monitored overnight. A sleep study records different functions while you sleep and can help identify breathing-related sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea.

For suspected narcolepsy, your sleep specialist may recommend additional sleep testing to look at how quickly you fall asleep during the day and how your sleep stages develop.

The tests you need will depend on your symptoms rather than following the same process for every patient.

Treatment for Narcolepsy

There is currently no cure for narcolepsy, but treatment can make its symptoms much easier to manage.

Your treatment plan may include medication to improve alertness during the day or manage symptoms such as cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and disrupted REM sleep.

Your doctor may also discuss practical changes to your routine, including planned naps and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule.

Because narcolepsy can affect driving, work, study, and other daily activities, treatment is focused not only on sleep itself but also on helping you stay safe and function well during the day.

Treatment for Snoring

There is no single treatment that works for everyone who snores.

The first step is finding out why you are snoring. For some people, changes to sleeping position, weight, alcohol intake, or nasal congestion may help. Other patients may need assessment by another specialist if the shape or structure of the nose, mouth, or throat is contributing to the problem.

If your snoring is caused by obstructive sleep apnea, treatment will focus on keeping your airway open while you sleep. King’s provides dedicated assessment and treatment for sleep apnea through its Sleep Medicine service.

Who Are the Best Doctors for Narcolepsy and Snoring Treatment in Dubai?

The best doctors in Dubai for narcolepsy and sleep-related care are:

• Samir Hassan Naik, Head of Respiratory Medicine, Consultant Pulmonologist
• Shahid Peerbhoy, Consultant Pulmonologist

These doctors are currently listed by King’s for narcolepsy treatment in Dubai.

Why Choose King’s College Hospital Dubai?

Sleep problems are not always straightforward. Daytime tiredness could be linked to narcolepsy, sleep apnea, insomnia, another medical condition, or simply poor-quality sleep.

At King’s College Hospital Dubai, patients have access to specialist Sleep Medicine care alongside respiratory medicine and other medical specialties when further assessment is needed.

Our dedicated Sleep Lab at Dubai Hills Hospital also allows our specialists to monitor what happens while you sleep and use those results to guide your treatment.

The goal is simple: to find out why you are not sleeping or staying awake as you should and give you a treatment plan that makes sense for your symptoms and everyday life.

How Can I Book an Appointment?

To book an appointment for narcolepsy and snoring treatment at King’s College Hospital Dubai, call +971 800 7777, complete the online form, or use the KingsHub App.