Multiple system atrophy, or MSA, is a rare neurological disorder that causes failures in the proper functioning of the body’s autonomic system (processes that are not under conscious control, such as blood pressure, breathing and involuntary movement). The resulting symptoms can look like two other types of neurodegenerative disease: Parkinson’s disease and cerebellar ataxia. In fact, MSA can be separated into a parkinsonism subtype or a cerebellar subtype based on whether the resultant movement-related symptoms bear greater similarity to one or the other. However, MSA also has other symptoms, with sleep disorders being common, but under-researched. As a result, researchers understand very little about the factors that influence the presence of sleep disorders in patients with MSA.