Both sleep terrors and nightmares can occur in PTSD. That is they can be co-morbid with each other. Nightmares may be restructured through imagery rescripting, this includes PTSD related nightmares. However, PTSD related nightmares often change with the standard treatments for PTSD (CPT, PE & EMDR).
PTSD and Night Terrors
Approximately 96% of people with PTSD experience terrifying nightmares that are so vivid that they seem real. Unlike bad dreams, night terrors have physical manifestations such as thrashing, flailing, screaming, and even sleepwalking.
Adults are more likely to have night terrors if they have a history of: bipolar disorder. depression. anxiety.
Sometimes, but not always, abuse, molestation, or other trauma can cause sleep terrors. It is important to discuss possible causes with the child to determine if there is a source of stress, anxiety, or fear that you are unaware of.
The characteristics of these dreams vary based on the trauma experienced. However, they typically create feelings of dysphoria, anxiety, sudden awakening, and an increase in heart rate. PTSD dreams most often occur toward the end of the night, but they can happen in all sleep stages.
Typically, patients with PTSD develop recurrent nightmares and hyperarousal that in turn lead to insomnia. Therapies such as phenelzine, nefazodone, trazodone, mirtazapine, and prazosin have been utilized in the treatment of PTSD-related sleep disturbances.
If you have chronic nightmares, they could be due to stress, anxiety, a traumatic event or lack of sleep. Night terrors have a strong genetic link, so you are more likely to experience them if someone else in your family has them. Adults who develop night terrors usually have underlying mental health problems.
Similarly, experiencing night terrors doubled the risk of such problems, including hallucinations, interrupted thoughts or delusions. Younger children, between two and nine years old, who had persistent nightmares reported by parents had up to 1.5 times increased risk of developing psychotic experiences.
This is important to know because there are different treatment options for each. Nightmares are unpleasant dreams that are usually remembered upon waking. Sleep terrors involve feelings of intense fear, screaming, and thrashing around while still asleep, the content is not remembered.
Sleep terrors affect almost 40 percent of children and a much smaller percentage of adults. However frightening, sleep terrors aren't usually a cause for concern. Most children outgrow sleep terrors by their teenage years.
Night terrors are rare in adults, yet many who experience them have other mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. 3 In these episodes, people may abruptly sit up in bed, sometimes screaming or thrashing around in fear.
People with bipolar disorder also commonly face Night terrors. Disparate nightmares, night terrors do not occur during REM sleep. A night terror isn't a dream, but rather sudden awakening along with the physical symptoms such as intense fear feeling, screaming or thrashing, and increased heart rate and blood pressure.
Moderate to low quality evidence finds frequent (weekly) nightmares were reported in 9% to 55% of people with schizophrenia. Around 15% reported sleep paralysis and 17% reported sleep-related eating disorders.
The Connection Between PTSD, Sleep, and the Brain
These brain regions are likely responsible for causing the patient to revisit the traumatic event in flashbacks and nightmares, as well as for maintaining a state of hyperarousal.
One possible medical treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nightmares is the drug prazosin. It can relax the muscles and reduce blood pressure and may decrease the number of nightmares a person has. PTSD can occur following a traumatic event.
Some of the most common sleep problems that children with autism experience are sleep apnea, night terrors and nightmares, bedwetting, and chronic sleep deprivation.
Night terrors occur in deep sleep or NREM stage three. During night terrors, the front part of your brain that controls executive functioning and memory is asleep while the back part that controls motor movement is awake. This is similar to sleepwalking.
Night terrors can occur in adults however it is rare. This may be indicative of underlying neurologic disorders that require more work up and investigation.
Beginning around puberty, people with ADHD are more likely to experience shorter sleep time, problems falling asleep and staying asleep, and a heightened risk of developing a sleep disorder. Nightmares are also common in children with ADHD. View Source , especially those with insomnia.
Some experts believe adults who have night terrors tend to live with mood-related mental health conditions like: depression. anxiety. bipolar disorder.
Try to prevent night terrors. A night terror can be triggered if your child becomes overly-tired. Be sure your child goes to bed at a regular time, and early enough to give him or her enough sleep. Younger children may need to return to a daily nap.
One of the most effective ways to reduce the frequency of night terrors is by helping the person to get better quality sleep. If it's happening to your child, create a consistent bedtime routine with the same sleeping and waking up times, and make sure they are getting enough sleep.
Trigger warnings are used to alert trauma survivors or those sensitive to possibly difficult subjects about content that might lead to extreme distress. The disturbing material might cause a physical or mental reaction.