Surely you would love to dream every night you are sailing quietly on a sailboat, feel the freedom of dreams with the sea and the purification that transmits the water. Or maybe you prefer dreams with fairy in enchanted forests or with a birthday where there are cakes and sweets and you breathe joy and happiness. But it is not possible to always have this type of dreams so pleasant and sometimes the nightmares arrive. Nightmares full of horror of those you wake up with great anguish and perhaps screaming but are not the same as night terrors. Do you know the difference between nightmare and night terror?
Night terror is considered to be a parasomnia and, in fact, many times it appears accompanied by sleepwalking. It is an experience associated with childhood, since almost 40 % of children suffer, but can also occur in adults. And what is night terror? Because it goes beyond the nightmare.
Look at what happens exactly during an episode of night horror. Generally, it begins with a scary cry that leads you to get up or sit on the bed, but you still continue sleeping. The eyes are very open and the looks fixed, you accelerate your pulse, breathe agitatedly, you start to sweat and you may kick, stir your arms or make some movement as if you were protecting yourself from something or someone.
Children have less easily to wake up from an episode of night horror and the next day they remember anything, but when it happens in adults you generally wake up during terror with much confusion and much anguish.
In a way, nocturnal terror looks like a nightmare, especially because of the burden of fear and anguish that both contain. But the nightmare does not belong to the field of parasomnias or sleep disorders, but is simply another way of dreaming. Nightmares are dreams, although they are quite unpleasant dreams. And, like all dreams, they occur with the intention that you learn more about yourself with their interpretation.
Nightmares, in fact, have the function of getting your fears, frustrations and anxiety outside, which is still effective so you don’t stay everything inside. Having a nightmare is an invitation to face your fears and concerns and find a solution.
Sometimes the nightmare is confused with the night terror, but while the nightmare occurs in the REM phase, the night terror occurs in the deepest phases of the sleep, usually in the first third of the night. Although the main difference is its origin.
The nightmare is a normal dream, it is part of the usual dream activity. Then you wake up and you can remember the content or not. However, night terror is not a dream, it is an emotional overload of fear and terror that is not motivated by unpleasant scenes.
Neither of the two episodes, neither nightmares nor night terrors, are in danger to health, but in the case of night terror in adults it is convenient to go to the doctor because it may be a symptom of some health problem. This leads us to look for the causes of night terrors.
What causes a nightmare? What causes a night terror? It is not known with certainty what is the origin of the nightmares, but it is true that the mood is usually convulsed and that it is concerns around the mind. In the case of night terrors, the cause is attributed to periods of stress or physical and mental exhaustion, in short, emotional tension problems.
Other causes of night terrors may be insomnia, have fever, substance and alcohol consumption or some medications. The absence or interruption of sleep, for a trip, for example, with its alteration of schedules can also cause this episode of terror. And we cannot lose sight of disorders such as depression or anxiety, which cause both nightmares and night terrors.
Seeing in another person an episode of night horror produces much concern and concern, especially when it comes to children. That in the midst of the dream a person starts crying, screaming or even getting out of the completely distressed bed is a terrifying experience for both the fact that he suffers and for his side, but in reality he does not have severity for health.
That night terrors do not generate any important health problem does not mean that we have to let them pass. Going to the doctor is necessary because both the child and the adult who suffers these episodes are reduced their sleep quality and long can cause sleep alterations. But it is convenient to pay attention to these terrors especially because of the risk that they are motivated by a period of stress or anxiety that must be attached as soon as possible.
In some cases, people suffering from night terrors get to injure a fall or stumble upon something when they get out of the fenced bed. In the case of adults living as a couple it is evident that the night becomes a focus of problems. Anything that harms night rest ends up affecting other areas of health.
There is no specific treatment to end night terrors as there is no infallible remedy for not having nightmares. Sometimes drugs are prescribed when a depressive or anxious origin is detected, but in the case of children psychotherapy is recommended before drugs.
As most of the time the night terrors are caused by stress, the ideal is to treat that stress. The same happens if the origin is a depression or an anxiety disorder. But sometimes it is enough to adopt a more relaxed evening routine and maintain a scrupulous sleep hygiene.
If you are wondering what that of sleep hygiene is, take note, because it can help you rest better even if you do not suffer night terrors.
Do you follow hygiene guidelines every morning when you wake up? For sure yes. Well, you can also do it at night, although it is another type of hygiene. Sleep hygiene is the set of habits you make every day before going to sleep and until a few hours before to achieve a deep and relaxed sleep.
You know how important sleep is well to enjoy everyday life and sleep hygiene can help you avoid insomnia and other sleep disorders. The basics are not to drink exciting drinks in the afternoon, dinner light although not so much to go to bed hungry and lie down and always get up at the same time.
Then there are other extras in this sleep hygiene that depend on the needs and tastes of each person. Turning aromatic candles in the bedroom, not watching television or watching social networks on the mobile phone before harassed or even taking a relaxing bath as a final icing of the day are some of the most used and effective rituals in the so -called sleep hygiene.
And you? Have you ever suffered night terrors? Did you know the differences between night terrors and nightmares? Tell us your experiences in the comments and in Diario Female we will try to help you!
You can read more articles similar to is a night terror the same as a nightmare? What are different, in the category of meaning of dreams in Diario Female.