This disease is characterized by irresistible short-term sleep attacks. It is a syndrome with unclear etiology, characterized by abnormal sleep tendencies, including excessive daytime sleepiness, restless sleep at night, and pathological REM sleep. It often starts in childhood or adolescence, and the incidence rate is similar in men and women. Some patients may have a history of encephalitis or craniocerebral trauma. Its pathogenesis is not yet clear, and it may be related to the decreased function of the ascending activation system of the brainstem reticular formation or the hyperfunction of the caudal pons reticular nucleus. Most patients are accompanied by other symptoms such as cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and sleep hallucinations, collectively known as the narcolepsy tetrad.