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I have been told that as a child I once had a night terror.. I do not remember this happening, but I would like to know more.
How do they differ from nightmares, and are they worse? Do they generally have triggers, or can they just happen?
Any information people have is welcome. I am happy to answer any questions.
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Night terrors are generally worse than nightmares. Dreams/nightmares happen during your REM stages, typically later into the night/morning than earlier. The difference between the two is that night terrors can occur before your actual REM cycle. It's very difficult to wake up completely from the 4th sleep stage (REM is the 5th) and so it's possible to have nightmarish visions even after awakening. Not an altogether enjoyable experience.
Also since they're happening in NREM-sleep, in a Night Terror your visual cortex is not activatet. This means that you will only feel an emotion, like fear, anxiety or hatred.
Noone really knows for sure why people have Night Terrors, but some suggest that they are maintainance of those parts of the brain.
Night Terrors are more like hallucinations then anything. Its near impossible to wake someone from a Night Terror, and once they do awake the person will be filled with fear with no recollection of why. They will not remember what had happened during the Night Terror, nor will they know why they are scared.
The main reason for Night Terrors is a traumatic experience, emotional or physical.
Actually, thats incorrect. You still have visual dreams and such before and after REM, its just not as vivid or easy to remember. As well, people do see images in Night Terrors but just have no recollection of the image.Quote:
Also since they're happening in NREM-sleep, in a Night Terror your visual cortex is not activatet. This means that you will only feel an emotion, like fear, anxiety or hatred.[/b]