# Night Terrors and Sleep Paralysis



## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

I never used to have this problem, but about 9 months ago I had my first ever "night terror".

Since the first one, I have had about 5 more within that 9 month timeframe (including one that I had last night).

The research I have found online does not quite match up with what I am experiencing.

A Night Terror usually occurs in children within the first half of sleep (2-4 hrs in), and is usually accompanied by a dream, unconsciousness and moving/thrashing about.

Sleep Paralysis is defined as being awake, yet unable to move (including the inability scream) as your body is still shut down.

Now, here's what I'm experiencing:

Every time I have one of these episodes, it is not in the first half of the night, but always closer to the morning. Say, 6 hours into my sleep. What happens is that I'm awake (and I know that I'm awake and that I'm having one of these episodes) and I start trying to scream. However, when I scream, I can't scream loud enough as it comes out as more of a moan. So, I continue to try and scream and scream, but I can't wake myself up even though I KNOW this is happening. It feels like it only lasts for about 30 seconds - 1 minute. However, I'm not entirely sure how long it actually lasts for. As far as I recall, there is no real "dream" associated with it that I can remember. I haven't been able to pinpoint why this happens.

As soon as I wake up from the terror, I roll over and go back to sleep like everything is normal. I have never had 2 terrors in the same night. Each time I have had one, I just wake up and then go right back to bed.

There's nothing "freaking me out". The only thing freaking me out is why this is happening. It appears that I'm having some sort of a mix between a Night Terror and Sleep Paralysis.

I understand we aren't doctors on this forum, but maybe some of you (particularly those with kids) might be able to help me out with this?


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## Daniel A. (Mar 20, 2011)

It is recommended that patients be evaluated for narcolepsy if symptoms persist.

Some evidence suggests that it can also, in some cases, be a symptom of migraine.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Definately not a doctor nor an expert, but did do a lot of research my little one had extreme night terrors as a toddler.

Even as a baby, she would be 'crying' in her sleep, but when we went to check, she was still asleep. As she got a little older, she would actually be screaming blood curdling screams and yelling, when trying to calm her down, she would lash out more, and start throwing herself on the floor, like she was trying to wake herself up, even though her eye were opened. The episodes started for a few minutes and would escalate to up to on hour episodes. She still has mini espisodes now, where it's like she awake but really isn't. My youngest, has mini episodes too.

Through our pediatrician, here's what we found - alot of this would be age related so, I don't how much it applies to you.
- The biggest trigger for them is when they are over tired. If they did not get a nap or went to bed too late, especially for a few nights, it would get worse, and more frequent until they had enough sleep.
- My youngest had perfectionist tendencies, and it got to the longest episodes when she was trying to night potty train herself and was stressed over not wearing diapers. When she has stressful situations, this still causes triggers for her
- It is more prevelant with kids when the parents have had night terrors, sleep walk, or talk in there sleep. I used to be a sleep walker, and still talk in my sleep. It how the body is processing information, and it has a difficulting distinguishing if one is awake or asleep. This part is hereditary.

My kids have mostly grown out of the scarier parts, but will still have night terrors when they are over tired, over stimulated before bed, or stressed. Are you experiencing any of this? I assume you aren't worried about potty training :biggrin:

The other thing is, for all my kids, it happens during their REM cycle which is at the beginning of their sleep, and occasionally on the last REM cycle which is about 45-50 mins before they wake up. You may want to look up REM cycles too.

Lastly, if this does become concerning, you could always go to a sleep clinic, as some of this could be a sign of poor quality sleep.


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## cedebe (Feb 1, 2012)

I've had bouts of sleep paralysis in the past, but none recently so my info isn't too current and therefore might not be all that accurate, but...

I recall reading something about the position that one sleeps in in addition to the REM cycle. I think personally that there was also a stress connection. I'm glad you're able to fall asleep soon after. My inability to scream usually followed a bad dream in which I was being suppressed somehow. Also, there were times where it felt like someone/thing was very nearby who/that shouldn't be. I found such experiences quite unsettling and frightening.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

I experience the exact same thing as you, literally identical except I sometimes do get it twice in a night. It freaks my wife out when I start moaning like that, while in my mind I think I'm screaming to try and wake myself up. Yes, it is sleep paralysis/night terrors (these are related), simply manifesting slightly differently. There is no cause for concern, as there is nothing physically wrong with you. I have studied sleep disorders for years- it is simply stress and/or lack of sleep that your brain is responding to; our lifestyles and technology have evolved much faster than our biochemistry can adapt to. I regularly push myself to stay up all night, going to bed at 5-6 am and have done so for nearly 30 years (bartender hours), even though I know better. It's when I feel most productive. There is a really great book on sleep called "The Promise of Sleep", by William C. Dement- he's the guy who began sleep research in the 50's or so, so one could accurately state that he 'wrote the book' on sleep issues. It's a huge book, but a good read. The library should have it.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Thanks, indexxx.

Glad I'm not the only one. :tongue:

I'll see if I can get a hold of that book. How frequently do you experience these episodes? Mine appear to be once every 2-3 months.


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## crazyjackcsa (Aug 8, 2010)

My 4 year old son has night terrors, fits of screaming from which he cannot wake. All we can do is hold him. In time it passes. 

As an aside, you could try and "twist" the episode to your will. I used to have nightmares as a child, until one night I realized (in the dream) that I was dreaming. I found that with a little bit of work I could control the dream to an extent and remove the fear. Lucid Dreaming is the term.

I can still do it, and have gotten pretty good at it. It probably helps that I'm a very light sleeper though.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

KaeJS said:


> Thanks, indexxx.
> 
> Glad I'm not the only one. :tongue:
> 
> I'll see if I can get a hold of that book. How frequently do you experience these episodes? Mine appear to be once every 2-3 months.


Maybe a couple of times per year. I have definitely noticed an increase in the frequency when I know I'm under a lot of stress or cutting my sleep down too much.

I've attempted to steer it towards lucid dreaming to quell the episode but have never been successful. BTW I sometimes have incredibly intense flying dreams that can precede this issue.


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## Karen (Jul 24, 2010)

I read someplace recently that night terrors and/or sleep paralysis can be a symptom of sleep apnea - maybe you should ask your doctor to assess you for that.

I just spent some time trying to find the article where I read that, but unfortunately I can't find it. If I come across it later, I'll post it here.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Karen said:


> I read someplace recently that night terrors and/or sleep paralysis can be a symptom of sleep apnea - maybe you should ask your doctor to assess you for that.
> 
> I just spent some time trying to find the article where I read that, but unfortunately I can't find it. If I come across it later, I'll post it here.


There is anecdotal evidence of a possible connection, but unless there are other symptoms present like daytime sleepiness, poor concentration, or heavy snoring then it's unlikely to be related to sleep apnea. If you share your bed with someone, they might be able to tell you if you seem to have trouble breathing during the night.

One opinion:

http://www.sleepnet.com/tech2/messages/251.html


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## Dibs (May 26, 2011)

When you fall asleep, there are different stages of sleep, one of them being Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. During REM sleep your brain shuts down all stimulation to motor neurons, causing your muscles to not move. For one type of sleep paralysis, people will wake up in this state, but they cannot move their muscles or willingly speak.

Interestingly, you should still have control of your eye movements.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Is there a link with poor diet/insufficient exercise?


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

I'm sure there's a direct correlation with Taco Bell.


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

KaeJS said:


> always closer to the morning. Say, 6 hours into my sleep. What happens is that I'm awake (and I know that I'm awake and that I'm having one of these episodes) and I start trying to scream.


What you describe happening 6 hours into your sleep & while awake, sounds more like hypnopompia/hypnopompic state [as opposed to hypnogocia, which occurs just b4 sleep].

- Hypnopompia occurs upon waking, and may also be accompanied by sleep paralysis. 
- Sleep paralysis is much more common in hypnopompia than in hypnogogia. 
- Sleep paralysis is often confused by the person experiencing it as part of a lucid dream, which accounts for the high number of recalled dreams with elements of being frozen in place, or being unable to move [in your case, you're unable to scream].
- Common hypnopompic experiences include the sensation of falling and the feeling of a presence in the room." [I have experienced these falling sensations, but not for a long time].

Sleep related hallucinations may be a direct result of alcohol or drug use, or could be due to insomnia, anxiety, stress or other factors. People with narcolepsy have a high rate of sleep hallucination occurrence.

*Source:* http://www.sleepassociation.org/index.php?p=hallucinationsduringsleep

Interesting that sleep related hallucinations is apparently 20% higher than non-sleep hallucinations & more common in teens & young adults [that would explain why I'm not having falling hypnopompic episodes lately]. 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_2_66/ai_90532944/?tag=content;col1

What I personally experience when I don't sleep enough, is headache/migraine/nausea [very debilitating]. Could it be that you are not sleeping enough & that lack of sleep, combined with your diet/exercise, etc., could be causing your problem?


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

the-royal-mail said:


> Is there a link with poor diet/insufficient exercise?


TRM, I can't tell if you are trying to be facetious, so I will answer you on a serious note.

I have had this happen to me when I was out of shape eating a ton of garbage foods, and I have had this happen to me now that I am in shape and eating healthy foods.

For myself, it appears there is no correlation with regards to diet or cardiovascular health. 



Toronto.gal said:


> Could it be that you are not sleeping enough & that lack of sleep, combined with your diet/exercise, etc., could be causing your problem?


I sleep almost 9 hours each night, which is what I don't understand.

It could be stress, but why only in the past 9 months? I have been in higher stress situations before.

I am not even that stressed at the moment?


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

Sounds almost like a post-traumatic stress kinda thing. Sometimes these things can pop up unexpectedly years after the event.


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

MoneyGal said:


> I'm sure there's a direct correlation with Taco Bell.


:applause:

I got nothing else to add other than sorry to hear you've been going through these things. Others have mentioned it possibly being stress-related, and I know you mentioned you've been feeling a lot of pressure about your upcoming move. How is that going? Are there other things going on that may be contributing?


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