Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects many people, especially military veterans. Symptoms can be severe and interfere with normal life. One of those disruptive symptoms is night terrors. They cause a person to thrash and scream in terror in the middle of the night.
PTSD and Night Terrors
Approximately 96% of people with PTSD experience terrifying nightmares that are so vivid that they seem real. Unlike bad dreams, night terrors have physical manifestations such as thrashing, flailing, screaming, and even sleepwalking.
Nightmares and Night Terrors: Nightmares and night terrors plague a majority of people with PTSD, leading to nighttime awakenings and making it difficult to get back to sleep. The content of these vivid dreams is sometimes related to past trauma, with many PTSD sufferers reporting repetitive nightmares.
Nightmares associated with PTSD may occur not only during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep but also at sleep onset, leading to insomnia and severe sleep disruption [8-10].
Night terrors are a sleep disorder in which a person quickly awakens from sleep in a terrified state. The cause is unknown but night terrors are often triggered by fever, lack of sleep or periods of emotional tension, stress or conflict.
For example, if you feel intense fear and freeze up, a deep breathing exercise can help calm your reaction. Other coping strategies may also be helpful: Perform relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises, meditation, muscle relaxation exercises, listening to soothing music, or getting in touch with nature.
Impact on PTSD
A nightmare usually involves replaying the traumatic event, feeling like they are right back there again. For veterans, this might mean re-witnessing horrific events or even deaths of people they witnessed while on combat missions.
Re-experiencing is the most typical symptom of PTSD. This is when a person involuntarily and vividly relives the traumatic event in the form of: flashbacks. nightmares.
It's best not to try to wake kids during a night terror. This usually doesn't work, and kids who do wake are likely to be disoriented and confused, and may take longer to settle down and go back to sleep. There's no treatment for night terrors, but you can help prevent them.
Triggers can include sights, sounds, smells, or thoughts that remind you of the traumatic event in some way. Some PTSD triggers are obvious, such as seeing a news report of an assault. Others are less clear. For example, if you were attacked on a sunny day, seeing a bright blue sky might make you upset.
While night terrors are frightening for adults to witness and they may seem like your child is having a severe emotional or mental disturbance, night terrors are not usually associated with serious emotional or psychological problems. If your child's behaviour is worrying during the day, see your GP for advice.
Night terrors occur in deep sleep or NREM stage three. During night terrors, the front part of your brain that controls executive functioning and memory is asleep while the back part that controls motor movement is awake. This is similar to sleepwalking.
Night terrors can occur in adults however it is rare. This may be indicative of underlying neurologic disorders that require more work up and investigation.
Sleep terrors differ from nightmares. The dreamer of a nightmare wakes up from the dream and may remember details, but a person who has a sleep terror episode remains asleep. Children usually don't remember anything about their sleep terrors in the morning.
Intrusive memories
Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event. Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks) Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event. Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.
Since adult night terrors are so closely associated with life trauma and psychological disorders, many of those who endure this bedtime battle will often also exhibit signs of aggression, anxiety, memory loss, and inward pain that are often expressed in the form of self-mutilation.
These nightmares might be triggered by stress, anxiety or trauma, but they might also be a sign of future psychosis, the findings suggest.
Some people with PTSD experience night terrors, also known as sleep terrors. Night terrors are fairly common in children but not in adults, but trauma can cause them.
Do quiet, calming activities — such as reading books, doing puzzles or soaking in a warm bath — before bed. Meditation or relaxation exercises may help, too. Make the bedroom comfortable and quiet for sleep.
Night terrors aren't dangerous, but they can disrupt your child's sleep. About half of children have sleep problems that are serious enough for medical help. It might help ease your anxiety to talk to your child's doctor. Let them know if your child's night terrors keep them up often or for more than half an hour.
Sleep terrors differ from sleepwalking and confusional arousals in that the individual appears to react to some type of frightening image. The individual may act in an improper or agitated manner without regard to reality. If another individual is encountered or is in close proximity, violent behavior may occur.
Stress can begin the cycle of sleep terrors or it can exacerbate it by causing fatigue or sleep deprivation. Sometimes, but not always, abuse, molestation, or other trauma can cause sleep terrors.