In contrast, nightmares are memorable because they happen in a lighter sleep stage during which fear can wake you up and therefore, commit them to memory. “You’re not trying to lay down new memories, but you’re actually trying to downscale everything in preparation for making them,” he adds. Memory of night terrors is uncommon: This is because night terrors occur during an “offline” stage of sleep that is responsible for a mental “clearing out process,” as Schneider puts it.You don’t usually wake up during a night terror: Because they occur during deep sleep, Schneider says it’s very difficult to wake someone who’s having one.They happen during different stages of sleep: Night terrors occur during NREM sleep (usually during the first half of the night) and vivid dreaming happens during REM sleep (usually during the latter half of the night).There are a few main differences between nightmares and night terrors, according to Schneider. “Sometimes, it’s just a spontaneous phenomenon and we don’t know exactly why the brain wakes up,” Schneider adds. Health conditions like sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome may also arouse the body just enough for a night terror to occur.
The events could also be hereditary, though that link is still being researched, Schneider says. Shelby Harris, Psy.D., clinical associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of sleep health at Sleepopolis, adds that trauma may also play a role in adults’ night terror prevalence. More specifically, some research has shown that those who have night terrors are more likely to have depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive and phobic traits. Researchers can’t pinpoint a specific reason why they happen, but in adults, there’s thought that major stress in daily life may trigger them, Schneider says. Schneider calls this a “million dollar question.” Although night terrors are most common in kids (likely because kids experience more slow-wave sleep, Schneider explains), anyone can have a night terror at any age.
PEOPLE WHO DONT SLEEP AT NIGHT FULL
(In case you were wondering, because a night terror takes place between full sleep and wakefulness, a person’s eyes are usually open during one, Schneider says.) What causes night terrors in adults? generally stressed interactions with one’s surroundings.a panicked-looking expression or mannerisms.Schneider says night terrors activate the autonomic nervous system, which results in a fight-or-flight response of: Episodes usually last between 45 to 90 minutes, according to the National Library of Medicine. Schneider adds.ĭuring a night terror, “the brain is still sleeping, but the body is activated,” explains Schneider. Slow-wave sleep is generally the phase responsible for most parasomnias, or disruptive arousals like sleepwalking or sleep talking, Dr. What are night terrors?Īccording to Logan Schneider, M.D., clinical specialist for sleep behavior at Google, night terrors, also called sleep terrors, are physical episodes of distress that may include thrashing, screaming, and aggressive behavior that happen during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep-or more specifically, slow-wave sleep, which is a deep phase of NREM sleep that takes place in the first hours of the night. Below, an expert explains the bewildering events, including symptoms, causes, and how they differ from your regular bad dream. The experience is a textbook example of a night terror, or sometimes unexplained physical episode that makes a person appear and sound distressed during sleep. Picture this: You awake in a damp sweat, notice a pile of blankets on the floor, and greet your partner, who disconcertingly recounts your wild night of thrashing, screaming, and inconsolable panic that you-despite being involved-can’t remember at all. When to see a doctor about night terrors.
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