The causes of narcolepsy are not well known. The disease appears preferentially in people carrying certain genes, even if these are not sufficient to trigger the disease.

A neurotransmitter (l‘hypocretine) located in the brain, could be one of the causes of narcolepsy. However, other factors could be involved, such as certain autoimmune processes, viral diseases, brain trauma ឬខ្លះ សារធាតុពុល.