Night Terrors in Adults: What Are They?

Night terrors, or sleep terrors, are episodes where a sleeping person suddenly begins trembling, sweating, shouting, and may even thrash or walk around as if in a state of fear. These episodes can last anywhere between thirty seconds to an hour or more but are usually over quite quickly. While the person experiencing this episode is unconscious and completely unaware of their actions, it can be distressing for others to witness.

Night terrors affect 40% of the child population and only about 2.2% of the adult population. People will generally only experience night terrors as adults if they also experienced them as children. While night terrors can be disruptive to others, they should not cause too much concern for the person experiencing them. They should not be an indicator of poor mental health, for example, though they can be linked to stress and caffeine intake.

What are night terrors?

Night terrors are part of a broad category of a sleep disorder called parasomnia, of which there are six recognized conditions. These are sleepwalking (somnambulism), teeth grinding, REM sleep behavior disorder, nocturnal sleep-related disorder, nightmares, and night terrors. A person may experience one, all, or a few of these in their lifetime, although commonly they occur during pre-puberty and decline in frequency as we age. Valencia Christian Counseling offers guidance and support to help navigate sleep-related challenges.

When we sleep, we experience two types of sleep: non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep (non-REM), and Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM). In the first stage, we go from dozing off to deep sleep-in cycles over four or more hours. Our brain activity slows and changes, our body temperature drops, and our breathing slows.

In the early hours, we begin REM sleep. Our brain activity picks up to the same levels as when we are awake, but our bodies are in a state of temporary paralysis. Only our eyes and the muscles that control breathing are active at this time. It is in this stage that we have vivid dreams and nightmares.

Night terrors, sleepwalking, confusion arousals, and sleep-related eating disorders are all parasomnias that occur during non-REM sleep. During this time our brains can get stuck between sleep and wakefulness.

This essentially means that our bodies are acting as if we are awake, but our brains are convinced that we are asleep. Night terrors and sleepwalking involve a lot of physical and verbal activity, but the person will often have no memory of the events in the morning.

Nightmares or night terrors?

Nightmares and night terrors have some things in common, including fear responses like sweating, heavy breathing, and sleep talking, but they are two different experiences. Nightmares occur during the later second stage of sleep (REM), meaning a person may remember some or all of their nightmares upon waking. This rarely occurs during a night terror; people will seldom recall their activity during a night terror.

Nightmares occur commonly in adults whereas night terrors are rare in adults. Nightmares frequently cause people to wake up, whereas night terrors do not. Finally, a person may be emotionally affected by a nightmare for a significant time after they have one, but night terrors generally have no emotional effect on the person who has had one, seeing as they hardly ever remember having one.

Symptoms of a night terror

Night terrors in adults look different for each individual and may contain more or less physical activity and verbality. Typically, during a night terror, a person will sweat as if with a fever, toss and turn in bed, scream, shout or talk loudly. Many even repeat the same phrase each night, if the night terrors are consistent.

Beyond this, they may sit up in bed, staring around with open eyes or a terrified expression, appear to be greatly upset and inconsolable, and may even cry. More physical episodes may see the person getting out of bed and walking around, and they may become aggressive if restrained. They are not able to reason or respond to communication because they are asleep, though they might seem to be awake.

Parasomnias are often connected, and so a night terror might also be a sleepwalking or sleep-eating incident, and a nightmare might follow later. These events are rare in adults, but they do occur. The worst that can happen from any of these events is physical injury and loss of sleep. Both risks are real with weighty consequences and should be considered, depending on the physical activity during the episode.

What causes night terrors?

Night terrors are not commonly linked to any mental illness, nor are they even a medically diagnosable condition. In some cases, night terrors have a genetic link, meaning that they are more likely to occur if a parent or sibling has also experienced them.

There are sleep-related conditions that frequently appear in conjunction with night terrors, such as restless leg syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), nocturnal asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux. These conditions disrupt healthy sleep patterns, making it more likely for the body to get caught in a non-REM phase. It is in this sleep phase that we experience night terrors.

Night terrors might not be linked to specific mental illnesses, but they are frequently linked to our emotional states. Grief, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, stress, and fear will have a noticeable effect on our sleep patterns and make us more vulnerable to sleep terrors.

Night terrors are frequently triggered by unhealthy sleep patterns. The body needs a decent quantity and quality of sleep to regenerate, heal, rest, and grow. When we do not have a stable sleep pattern, disorders and conditions like parasomnia are more likely to become a problem for us.

There are also potential causes of night terrors that are far simpler. If we are consuming extraordinary amounts of caffeine, especially after midday, we are more likely to have a disrupted sleep pattern. This can negatively impact the quality and quantity of sleep.

Sugary foods, a lack of exercise, and drinking too many fluids (of any sort) before bed are other common factors in night terrors. Some other surprisingly common causes of night terrors are having bedroom curtains that do not sufficiently block out light and trying to sleep while experiencing a migraine.

Finally, two potential health risks that are commonly linked to night terrors are Parkinson’s Disease and dementia. This is especially true for people aged from their early forties to early eighties. In most of these cases, somnambulism and nightmares are common along with night terrors.

How do night terrors affect us?

Night terrors do not pose long-term threats to our mental or physical health, but there are several ways that we may be affected by night terrors and parasomnia conditions. First, they cause sleep loss, or interrupt sleep patterns. This can be a serious problem and one that can deeply impact our relationships, parenting, career, and outlook. If left unchecked, it can affect our nervous system and affect our immune system.

Night terrors mostly affect those who share sleeping spaces with us. Partners, spouses, fellow students, and siblings are the ones who are alarmed at our night terrors. Whether they have never seen a sleep terror before, or if it is a regular occurrence, it can cause tension, alarm, and frustration. This, in turn, can lead us to experience feelings of guilt, shame, and even fear of falling asleep.

Treatments of night terrors

The only people who actively seek treatment for night terrors are the ones whose lives are so negatively impacted by them that they need a solution. They might choose to go on prescribed medication, however, there is no specific medication for parasomnia. In some cases, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) may be used, but these can have significant side effects.

Making changes to our diets, eliminating caffeine, increasing physical activity, and monitoring our stress levels are practical measures we can take to improve our sleep. Going for counseling and talk therapy is something we should seriously consider as part of a long-term solution.

Further help

Night terrors are not common among adults, but they do occur. Because there is a relatively small portion of the population dealing with this particular problem, it is not uncommon to feel guilt or shame. But you are not alone.

Whether night terrors are persistent, or if they only appear occasionally to disrupt our sleep, they can signal that something in our life needs to be fixed, changed, or addressed. In this way, they are not the problem in and of themselves but point to something else going on. We might have a pretty intuitive idea of what this issue is, or we may benefit from gaining perspective by speaking to a counselor.

It is always beneficial to have access to a counselor with whom we can debrief and share our concerns. Should you need a counselor, but don’t know where to start looking, you have come to the right place. We can connect you with a professional counselor at Valencia Christian Counseling who is the right fit for you, and all you have to do is contact our offices at your convenience.