Experience dealing with night terrors

[Monique]

Does anyone have experience dealing with night terrors? My boyfriend sometimes gets parasomnias (melatonin side-effect). I usually minimally react when he tells me there is something dangerous next to the bed or other confused messages.

However, a night terror is more difficult to ignore! I just read one should never wake someone up from a terror and especially never tell the person it happened. Whoops! Sure, you leave someone with a nightmare alone, but a terror is different. Backing off appears impossible. Any experience?

(I'll tell him to leave the melatonin alone, that will improve my sleep a lot )

 

[micromass]

I have no experience with them. But I hope you work something out. It's horrible for both of you

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Not sure about night terrors, but my family has a history of night hallucinations. I'll sometimes get them if I am stressed. It will be like I am half sleeping or awake but some of my brain hasn't turned around yet and wherever I am will turn into somewhere else. Some can be quite scary. I've learned that the room lighting is very important. If I wake up and hallucinate it's usually reinforced by poor lighting. It needs to be either completely black or bright enough where when I wake up there is no way I can be confused or accept that my brain is telling me that a chair is something else. Dim and uneven lighting or when curtains are not blocking out all bright light and there are random rays of light can really support the hallucinations.

 

[Monique]

Yes, that happens as well. This morning he woke me up saying "there's all this stuff standing there, what's that, I didn't put it there, someone put stuff there". The light was actually very bright. Later I told him about it, how his unconsciousness thought he's messy Well, that was just a bad joke.
He did remember it, so was also half awake. Apparently it's better not to emphasize such incidences.

Thanks micromass, indeed it can be scary. A night ago he scared the life out of me. Luckily it doesn't happen too often.

 

[leroyjenkens]

I once woke up and opened my eyes but I couldn't move my body. I felt a really strong feeling of fear, but for no apparent reason. I guess I went right back to sleep afterwards, because I don't remember being in that state for very long. But the next day, I didn't remember that happened until later that afternoon. I got this sudden realization of that happening and sat there kinda stunned, thinking "what the hell was that?"

Not sure if that was a night terror, but that wasn't too pleasant.

 

[phoenix:\\]

Seems as if you woke up a bit faster than your brain had time to operate your limbs.

I've experienced night terrors as a child from what my mother has told me. I don't have them any-longer though. Although I don't remember them, I am pretty sure other people do. But from what I read on it, has he been getting enough sleep, etc...?

 

[Monique]

That sounds like sleep paralysis, it's thought that people claiming having experienced alien abduction have been in such a sleep state. Fear is also a component there and has been a subject of works of art: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

People experiencing a night terror however will appear to be awake, see the first three cases:

Phoenix, nightmares are a documented side-effect of melatonin. At first I was skeptic, but they always co-occur.

 

[Cloudless]

Yeah, my mother gets really bad night terrors. :/ One time she woke the whole house saying there was someone standing outside the window.

There were times where I'd be in bed, and my heart would be racing fast and inside I'm telling myself "wake up, there's something there", but my eyes would be glued shut because I'm still half-asleep.

Must run in the family? xP

 

[turbo]

I have gotten sleep-paralysis, mostly when I have gone to bed 'way too tired. It can be scary. Night-terrors? Nope, thankfully.

 

[lisab]

When my daughter was 3 or 4, she had a night terror (they're common in children). It was really difficult to deal with but fortunately I knew what it was as it was happening.

She woke screaming, and had her eyes fixed on something that was scaring the daylights out of her. I would get into the line of sight to whatever she was "seeing" but she didn't break her eyes off of it, if that makes sense. It was like she could not see, hear, or sense me at all, even though I was holding her and looking straight into her face. She was in complete terror.

It took a good 5 minutes before she calmed down, closed her eyes, and was fast asleep. She had no memories of it. I'm very glad it only happened once!

 

[DaveC426913]

Melatonin <=> night terrors?

I have been toying a little with melatonin at bedtime to help me sleep (Sunday nights I lie awake for hours), but maybe I'll be more cautious. And I'll keep an eye out for nasty dreams.

 

[Monique]

It was like she could not see, hear, or sense me at all, even though I was holding her and looking straight into her face. She was in complete terror.

That's really weird right! It is good to hear from your experience, knowing that there is no consciousness in the reaction is good to realize.

Melatonin <=> night terrors?

I have been toying a little with melatonin at bedtime to help me sleep (Sunday nights I lie awake for hours), but maybe I'll be more cautious. And I'll keep an eye out for nasty dreams.

I don't think you need to worry, most people won't experience side-effects. But if you wake up not rested, it might not be the thing for you. Do watch the timing of taking it, because you could actually shift your rhythm in the wrong direction. I think it is recommended to take it a few hours before going to sleep.