Night Terrors

Night terrors are episodes of fear, screaming, or flailing while being asleep. Night terrors differ from nightmares in that an individual with a night terrors remains asleep until the dream until it is over. Night terrors are often brought on by stress , sleep deprivation, depression , anxiety , PTSD , or substance use. Night terrors are uncommon, but usually affect children under the age of 12. However, they can occasionally occur in adults. 

During a night terror episode, individuals may: 

• Scream or shout 
• Sit up in bed and appear frightened 
• Sweat, breathe heavily, and have a racing pulse
• Kick and thrash 
• Be hard to awaken or be confused when woken 
• Be inconsolable after waking 
• Have no or little memory of the night terror the next morning 
• Sleepwalk 
• Have aggressive behaviours if blocked or restrained