About 6,000,000 north Americans experience panic attacks. Out of those 6,000,000, about 50% of them have reported to experience panic attacks during the night. This has confused many sufferers as they might intuitively think that there would be more panic attack triggers during the day time than at night. In this article, the explanations for the existence of panic attacks at night will be discussed as well as their prevention.
The reasons for panic attacks at night can alter considerably from person to person. A typical trigger for panic attacks is the sense of the loss of control. Many night panic attack sufferers believe that being in a comatose sleep state would represent the ultimate shortage of control. They fear the vulnerability of a defenseless unconscious state. Obviously, these fears are completely crazy but they nevertheless exist in some nocturnal panic attack sufferers. These crazy fears often lead to panic attacks at night.
Another reason for panic attacks at night is the phobia of death while asleep. Sufferers fear the possibility of a cardiac arrest or stroke during their sleep. Again, these fears are quite unreasonable but nonetheless act as triggers for anxiety attacks at night.
Dreams, however , are definitely not a cause of panic attacks at night. Dreams only occur in heavy REM sleep and research has proven that those who experience nocturnal panic attacks don’t experience them during REM sleep. Panic attacks at night generally transpire during early sleep phase. Nightmares , however , are a different story all together. Some panic attacks at night spring from nightmares as they occur in the second half the common sleep period. This is the reason why we are able to remember them.
In fact, there exists a particular type of sleeping disorder called Pavor Nocturnus distinguished by awakening and crying, increased heart beat rate, cold sweats and heart throbbing and other panic attack-like symptoms. Pavor Nocturnus is most typical in kids.
I hope that this article has been helpful in enlightening the reader pertaining to the causes and reasons for nocturnal panic attacks.
For further information on how to stop panic and anxiety attacks, please refer to panic attacks in childern treatment