Experts say that narcolepsy is as common as multiple sclerosis. A quarter of a million Americans have the chronic disorder. Medication can ease many of the symptoms of narcolepsy, but the social and emotional damage is harder to heal.

Researchers are studying new ways to treat narcolepsy. Sleep scientists are also looking at how the condition disrupts the sleep-and-waking machinery in a narcoleptic's brain in order to explain how normal sleep functions in everyone else.

PHOTO: Kris and Eric Johnson of Becker, Minnesota with their 2-year-old daughter Kallie. Kris is a teacher who has narcolepsy.

Dreaming Awake Stories Part One: Living with Narcolepsy Stories from the front lines of this disabling disease. Part Two: Narcolepsy Research Scientists are searching for the genetic causes of narcolepsy, and for new medications to treat the disorder. Fact Sheet and Links A list of things you might not know about narcolepsy and links for more information.

Movies Narcoleptic Dogs Meet Beau as he experiences an attack of cataplexy at Stanford University's animal research lab. Totally Crashed Emmanuel Mignot describes Beau's attack of sudden paralysis. Asleep and Awake Cataplexy is a daytime manifestation of normal nighttime sleep behavior. Up and Down Beau's narcoleptic episodes last less than a minute. This additional footage of Beau does not have sound.