Night terrors are emotionally draining, and these are common in children. Adults may also suffer from such episodes when they are dealing with anxiety or stress. A night terror attack may last for about 3 seconds to 30 minutes. The situation is severely disturbing for the sufferers as well as the ones around them. The person screams and shouts while having a night terror. If you or someone you know is suffering from the same, there are few things to know in detail:
Symptoms of Night Terrors
How can one know if these are night terrors or nightmares? What are the symptoms?
While having a nightmare, a person may awake from an unfavorable dream. During nightmares, the person usually stays asleep. It happens because of the variations in the sleep stages when such episodes occur. Usually, night terrors occur while the person is in a deeper sleep stage, the reason why they scream their head off.
- Screams and Shouts: The first most symptom of night terrors is high screams and shouting while the person is sleeping.
- Kicking Limbs: Out of discomfort, the person may also start kicking.
- Heavy Breathing & High Pulse Rate
- Aggression: Night terrors are like having stress and panic attacks while you are in your deepest sleep. People suffering from such conditions become aggressive.
- Forgetting About It: The most absurd symptom of night terrors is forgetting what happened.
What to expect? Causes and Effects of Night Terrors
There is no clear cause for experiencing these nocturnal occurrences. Night terrors are more common in children than in adults, and it can be hard to keep them comfortable in such situations.
Some Common Causes:
- Fever or chills. While you are sick, you are more likely to experience terrors at night.
- Stress and anxiety can trigger this.
- Sleeping at an unfamiliar place or on an uncomfortable surface
- Light and Noise can cause sleep terrors. You can install blackout curtains to filter out the light in your bedroom. With Livpure’s blackout curtains, the ambience becomes quieter and comfortable to sleep.
- Sleep disorders like Restless Leg Syndrome and Abnormal breathing
- Alcohol consumptions and some medications inflict scary terrors
Night Terrors in Adults & Children
Children below the age of 7 often experience this terror at night. They even sleep talk and walk on some occasions. However, there is no definite reason for the same. Keep a check on your child’s sleep behaviors to ensure they don’t suffer.
The percentage of adults with night terrors falls far below that of children. In adults, sleep terrors can be an effect of some traumatic incident or accident. They can seek the help of a professional.
Treating Night Terrors
In most cases, diagnosing night terrors doesn’t require any test. There is no definitive treatment either. Children may recover from it as they pass the age of ten. The adults can fix their sleep schedules and the trauma that haunts them with the help of a professional with time.
Nightmares can be horrifically life-altering. You have to be kinder to yourself in the process. Sleep terrors can cause Insomnia and sleep deprivation. A nighttime sleep schedule would be the wiser choice to keep oneself secure.
Disclaimer
When to seek professional help?
Be cautious about anything that harms your sleep or mental health. It’s risky to wait for things to calm down on their own. Consider talking to a professional or an expert in the field to know more about your night terror condition. They may advise an overnight sleep study known as a polysomnogram. It will monitor the brain activity to ensure what’s going on in that mind.
More than Just a Traumatic Dream!
Sleep terrors are real, and those who have experienced them understand how damaging they are to their mental and physical health. Talk it out, make people aware of sleep terrors, promote & follow a healthy sleep regime.
