Night Terrors

Night terrors occur primarily in children. They differ from nightmares on a few points, they occur in non REM sleep (NREM), the individual shoots up from sleep and may scream with their eyes open but they cannot be awoken nor comforted. This disorder is one that can cause anxiety for parents because they can feel helpless. Those that experience terrors do not remember anything from the episode. Sleep studies show that the person remains asleep during the terror. Video monitoring, EEG and EMG recording are used to confirm certain cases of night terrors.

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Adults are less confused from episodes and in some cases have reported dream like activity from an episode. It has also been noted that having a parasomnia episode at 12 years old can also mean a higher likelihood of having a concurrent psychotic episode. There may be poor sleep/wake boundaries in individuals that suffer from psychotic episodes. A patient may more easily slip into a wake state from a NREM state, as what occurs with night terrors.

Not all children that suffer from sleep terrors necessarily suffer from an underlying psychosis. Some triggers for night terrors are fever, irregular sleep, and stress. Since it primarily occurs in children, it often fades with age.

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