Getting a good night's sleep is essential to our health over the course of our lives.
Those that have trouble sleeping soundly will usually have health problems, energy deficiency, and an overall lack of quality in their lives.
There are many sleep disorders and problems out there that can rob you of your precious sleep.
Sleep apnea, insomnia, and others can cause you quite a few problems.
However, something that can be downright scary is sleep panic attacks.
Try waking up to someone experiencing one of these next to you and it doesn't make for a very restful night.
So what are sleep panic attacks and how do they affect you? Let's look at the details behind them and what can be done about them.
Sleep panic attacks are most common in young children.
It usually happens in children who are 3-12 years old.
Many times, the younger children in that range are most affected.
When they experience a night terror, they'll start screaming or crying in a very panicked tone.
Many times, they'll be sweating, breathing hard, and just look generally terrified.
You might try to wake them and it takes a long time to wake them up.
This is what a typical night terror episode looks like.
Causes Of A Night Terror There are several known causes for night terrors.
One of the more common causes is stress.
While it might seem strange to think about stressed out kids, it happens a lot.
They might be going through a divorce, moving to a new school, or seeing their parents fight all the time.
Many different things can stress out a kid and sleep panic attacks can result from it.
A fever or sleep deprivation can also cause a night terror, so it might just be a temporary thing until they get rested and healthy again.
Even some medications can cause these episodes in many children.
You'll want to check any medication that your child is taking for side effects.
Nightmare Vs.
Night Terror Unlike a nightmare, night terrors have some very specific symptoms that you can look out for.
Most of the time, those that have night terrors don't even remember it the next morning.
They'll wake up drenched in sweat with an increased heart rate and rapid breathing.
This process usually takes place about an hour and a half after falling asleep.
If you hear something like this about 90 minutes after they go to sleep, you can be pretty confident this is what they are experiencing.
Sleep Panic Attacks Tips What can be done about sleep panic attacks? If your young child is experiencing more than one episode per week, you might want to have them checked out by a doctor.
In older kids, more than twice per month is cause for concern.
You'll want to also make sure that your child's sleep environment is safe.
The last thing you want to do is cause a serious injury if they start flailing around at night.
Overall, it's not really anything dangerous that should be a serious concern.
Just don't allow your child's sleep patterns and quality to be sacrificed over the long term.
Sleep panic attacks can be overcome and is usually a passing stage in life.
Those that have trouble sleeping soundly will usually have health problems, energy deficiency, and an overall lack of quality in their lives.
There are many sleep disorders and problems out there that can rob you of your precious sleep.
Sleep apnea, insomnia, and others can cause you quite a few problems.
However, something that can be downright scary is sleep panic attacks.
Try waking up to someone experiencing one of these next to you and it doesn't make for a very restful night.
So what are sleep panic attacks and how do they affect you? Let's look at the details behind them and what can be done about them.
Sleep panic attacks are most common in young children.
It usually happens in children who are 3-12 years old.
Many times, the younger children in that range are most affected.
When they experience a night terror, they'll start screaming or crying in a very panicked tone.
Many times, they'll be sweating, breathing hard, and just look generally terrified.
You might try to wake them and it takes a long time to wake them up.
This is what a typical night terror episode looks like.
Causes Of A Night Terror There are several known causes for night terrors.
One of the more common causes is stress.
While it might seem strange to think about stressed out kids, it happens a lot.
They might be going through a divorce, moving to a new school, or seeing their parents fight all the time.
Many different things can stress out a kid and sleep panic attacks can result from it.
A fever or sleep deprivation can also cause a night terror, so it might just be a temporary thing until they get rested and healthy again.
Even some medications can cause these episodes in many children.
You'll want to check any medication that your child is taking for side effects.
Nightmare Vs.
Night Terror Unlike a nightmare, night terrors have some very specific symptoms that you can look out for.
Most of the time, those that have night terrors don't even remember it the next morning.
They'll wake up drenched in sweat with an increased heart rate and rapid breathing.
This process usually takes place about an hour and a half after falling asleep.
If you hear something like this about 90 minutes after they go to sleep, you can be pretty confident this is what they are experiencing.
Sleep Panic Attacks Tips What can be done about sleep panic attacks? If your young child is experiencing more than one episode per week, you might want to have them checked out by a doctor.
In older kids, more than twice per month is cause for concern.
You'll want to also make sure that your child's sleep environment is safe.
The last thing you want to do is cause a serious injury if they start flailing around at night.
Overall, it's not really anything dangerous that should be a serious concern.
Just don't allow your child's sleep patterns and quality to be sacrificed over the long term.
Sleep panic attacks can be overcome and is usually a passing stage in life.