31 Jul Night Terrors: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
Night terrors, also known as sleep terrors, are categorized as a type of parasomnia. It happens when a person sleeping is screaming, crying, or even waving their arms and legs. The condition can lead to sleepwalking.
Children aged 1 to 12 usually experience this. Adults experience night terrors less often.
Symptoms and Causes of Night Terrors
Night terrors rarely happen during naps and can be different from nightmares as people having nightmares can remember their dreams. Meanwhile, people experiencing night terrors remain asleep and have no consciousness as to what was happening.
The usual symptoms of night terrors include:
- Screaming or crying
- Sitting up in bed and looking scared
- Staring wide-eyed
- Kicking and thrashing
- Being hard to wake up. If awakened, might be disoriented
- Sleepwalking
- Rapid heart rate
- Can be difficult to comfort
Despite a lack of clear cause to why night terrors occur, several factors can affect one’s chances of experiencing night terrors including:
- Age: adolescent and young children usually experience night terrors
- Genetics: the condition can run in families
- Sleep disorders: several sleep disorders are associated with night terrors such as obstructive sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder, and restless leg syndrome.
- Sleep deprivation: If you are aware for long periods of time to the point of being sleep deprived, you might enter a deep sleep state once you’re asleep.
- Fever: Being ill can cause a person to enter a deep sleep state.
- Anxiety: for children, it is associated with separation anxiety while some adults might experience night terrors due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other disorders.
Night Terrors: Are There Treatments Available?
Treatments to night terrors might include addressing the underlying issues that might be causing the night terrors.
Treatments for night terrors include:
- Treating any sleep disorder you might have
- Easing stress levels
- Health care professionals might prescribe medicines such as benzodiazepines or some antidepressants
You should call your doctor if your night terrors happen often, regularly disrupt the sleep schedule of the whole household, and causes safety issues and injuries.
It is also advisable to get your doctor’s opinion if your night terrors continue in your adult years.
Get better sleep with iCare’s Sleep Better program. Download the iCare mobile app in App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android users.
SOURCE:
Sleep Foundation. (February 29, 2024). Night terrors. Retrieved July 15, 2024, from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasomnias/night-terrors
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Nightmares and night terrors. Retrieved July 15, 2024, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/nightmares-and-night-terrors#:~:text=Night%20terrors%20are%20a%20sleep,emotional%20tension%2C%20stress%20or%20conflict.
Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Sleep terrors (night terrors). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved July 15, 2024, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-terrors/symptoms-causes/syc-20353524