What Are Night Terrors? Understanding This Mysterious Sleep Disorder

Sleep time is supposed to be a period of rest, recuperation, and revitalization. For some people, the night may come with sudden fright, bewilderment, and agitation. Such a person may awake screaming in the middle of the night, eyes open and their heart racing, without fully realizing what is happening. This is a disturbing experience that most individuals refer to as a night terror.

The name itself is dramatic, but night terrors are a real sleeping conditions, which have their basis in the sleep processes of our brain. They do not resemble nightmares, and they usually confuse the individual having them as well as their close ones. To further explain this puzzling sleeping disorder, we shall delve into the definition of night terrors, their cause, their victims, and what can be done to control them.

What Are Night Terrors?

Night terrors or sleep terrors are characterized as outbursts of extreme fear, screaming, and flailing, and typically happen in non-REM (NREM) deep sleep, typically during the first few hours of sleep. Night terrors leave few or no memories the following morning compared to nightmares, which occur during REM sleep and often result in vivid recollection after waking up.

Find out more about REM and non-REM sleep.

In a night terror, an individual can:

Rise in bed in terror or alarm.
Shriek, yell, or scream without necessarily waking up.
Rapidly breathe, heart racing.
Sweat or thrash around.
Appear lost or stunned when one attempts to wake them up.

The episode can take between a couple of seconds and a few minutes. Most individuals revert to sleep without recollection of what happened, and their sleeping partner or relatives may wake up shocked and concerned.

Night Terror vs. Nightmares: Major Differences.

Night terrors and nightmares are not the same sleeping disorders as one may assume them to be. Here's how they differ:

Timing: Night terrors are caused in deep NREM sleep, and nightmares are caused in REM sleep.

Awareness: An individual who undergoes a nightmare, will wake up scared but conscious of what has frightened them. Conversely, an individual who experiences a night terror is not always fully awake and usually cannot recollect the experience.

Behavior: Nightmares are typically accompanied by silent suffering (tossing, turning, getting up with fright). Night terrors, on the other hand, can be dramatic, including screaming, sweating, or even jumping out of bed.

The difference is essential as the causes, treatment, and consequences are different.

Who Faces Night Terror?

Children

Most night terrors occur in children between the ages of 3 and 12. An approximation of up to 29% of the children can experience them at least once. Children usually grow beyond the episodes as their nervous systems develop, though there are some cases when they continue to experience them into adolescence. To a parent, it may be scary to see the child experience a night terror. Nevertheless, the majority of pediatricians reassure parents that the episodes are usually mild and do fade with age.

Adults

Night terrors occur less frequently in adults but may take place. Usually, night terrors are induced by stress, lack of sleep, trauma, or other medical issues. Adult night terrors are at times more disturbing, since they can be accompanied by a form of aggression or sleepwalking, which in turn can inflict injury. Genetics can also contribute to the problem of night terrors in children and adults because night terrors tend to run in families.

Night Terror Causes and Triggers

The origin of night terrors is not clearly known, but studies have indicated that a combination of genetic, neurological, and environmental factors causes night terrors. Common triggers include:

Sleep deprivation: Insufficient sleep may disorient sleep cycles.
Stress and anxiety: The night terrors are more likely to occur during periods of increased mental tension.
Fever or disease: In children, fevers occasionally prompt episodes.
Sleep disorders: Sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome may be contributory factors.
Medications or substances: Certain drugs, alcohol, or stimulants can disrupt the quality of sleep.
Irregular rhythms: Circadian rhythms can be disrupted by bedtime or jet lag changes.

Science behind Night Terrors

To get a view of what happens during the night terrors, it is best to look at what happens in the brain when one is asleep. Sleep is further divided into two broad categories:

Non-REM (NREM) sleep: It includes several stages, including deep sleep.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep: Dreaming takes place in this stage.

Night terrors take place at deep phases of NREM sleep, as the brain at such stages is less sensitive to external stimuli. Rather than transitioning smoothly from one stage to another, the brain appears to freeze and creates a half-awakening where the body reacts, resulting in fear, while the mind is not quite awake.

This is why individuals who go through night terrors might be in a state of having their eyes open but seem to be unresponsive and insensitive, and why they tend to forget the incident in the future.

The Impact of Night Terrors

Even though night terrors do not typically cause harm, their consequences on the everyday life may be observed:

Sleep disturbance: Episodes can deny the individual and other people in the household sleep.
Emotional impact: Parents, partners, or caregivers may become helpless or nervous.
Safety: In extreme instances, thrashing, running, or exiting a bed may result in injury.
Disease causes: Sometimes, frequent night terrors in adults are an indicator of another disorder, such as sleep apnea, post-traumatic stress disorder, or stress disorders.

How to Manage Night Terrors

Although the night terrors have no definite cure, some measures can be taken to lessen the occurrence and intensity of the night terrors.

Create a regular sleeping schedule: Waking up and going to bed at regular periods aids in the control of sleep. Stability is particularly significant to children.
Reduce Stress Before Bed: Meditation, deep breathing, or light stretching may relax the nervous system. For children, a bedtime tale or calming music can do it.
Improve Sleep Hygiene:

Keep the bedroom cool, dark, and silent.
Avoid television, caffeine, and heavy food intake at night.
Develop a calming down pre-sleep routine (reading, journaling, or taking a warm bath).

Monitor Triggers: Maintain a bedtime journal to monitor the appearance of night terrors. Trends can indicate certain stimuli, such as screen use during late hours, stressful days, or particular foods.
Ensure Safety: In case the episodes include physical movements, ensure that the sleeping environment is safe: keep sharp objects away, lock windows, and a low bed frame may be used.

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