Night terror

:Night Terrors is also the name of a episode.

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A night terror, also known as sleep terror or pavor nocturnus, is a parasomnia sleep disorder characterized by extreme terror and a temporary inability to regain full consciousness. The subject wakes abruptly from the fourth stage of sleep, with waking usually accompanied by gasping, moaning, or screaming. It is often impossible to fully awaken the person, and after the episode the subject normally settles back to sleep without waking. Sometimes the night terror can be recalled by the subject.

Related Topics:
Parasomnia - Sleep disorder - Stage of sleep

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Night terrors are distinct from nightmares in several key ways. First, the person is not fully awake when roused, and even when efforts are made to awaken the sleeper, they may continue to experience the night terror for over 10 or 20 minutes. Unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during the deepest levels of non-REM sleep. Furthermore even if awakened the subject can often not remember the episode except for a sense of panic, while nightmares are easily recalled.

Related Topics:
Nightmare - REM sleep - Panic

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Children from age four to six are most prone to night terrors, and they affect about three percent of all youngsters. Episodes may recur for a couple of weeks then suddenly disappear. They usually occur during the first couple of hours of sleep. Strong evidence has shown that a predisposition to night terrors can be passed genetically. Though there are a multitude of triggers, emotional stress during the previous day is thought to precipitate most episodes. Ensuring that the right amount of sleep is gained also seems to be important.

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The consensus for treating night terror episodes is three-pronged: gentleness, disposal of anything nearby that might hurt the subject, and avoiding loud voices or movements that might frighten the subject further. Night terrors are so transitory that medical help is often unnecessary, but options may range from treatment of sleep apnea to prescription of benzodiazepines and psychotherapy.

Related Topics:
Sleep apnea - Benzodiazepine - Psychotherapy

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In very rare cases an episodic series of Night Terrors may progress to a Night Horror, a distinctly different experience for the sufferer, during which they may be at a higher level of wakefulness, but rather than unidentifiable fear and anxiety, the Horror will often involve intense and extremely disturbing hallucinations. While occuring very rarely, medical attention is often required, due to high cardiac stress brought on by overwhelming chemical response from the body during the episode. They are generally thought to be the by-product of high sleep deprivation, and pre-existing psychological conditions. -->

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