Night Terrors

Night Terrors are quite different from Nightmares. The most notable differences between them are that Nightmares are dreams, that are characterized by a sense of fear and/or anxiety and they typically occur during REM sleep, Nightmares are usually remembered in detail. Night Terrors, sometimes referred to as sleep terrors, on the other hand are characterized by a sense of confusion upon awakening from a night terror along with an absence of recall of any kind of dream.

Night terrors do not occur during REM sleep, they happen during a deep Non-REM sleep. The person will not remember the contents of the night terror. When someone is experiencing an actual night terror, it is not unusual for them to thrash about and scream out loud, and they are very difficult to wake up.

Night terrors seem to be more common in children and often stop happening as the child reaches puberty. As far as adults who experience night terrors, it is widely believed to be directly related to stress.

Dream Tip:
You can easily assess if you are dealing with nightmares or night terrors by looking for the key symptoms of Night Terrors which include some of the following: sudden intense terror during sleep, usually happening in the first part of sleep when you are in a deep sleep and experience of partial or total amnesia for the events that took place during the episode.

** Please remember, you should consult your health care professional if you are uncertain of your symptoms or you are experiencing frequent night terror episodes **