Notes From a Dreamer …

You wake up terrified. Your heart is pounding. You are unable to move. You try to scream for help, but can’t. What’s going on? Was it a nightmare, a night terror or sleep paralysis? While there are some similarities between them, most notably the fact that you’re scared to death, there are major differences, with different ways to deal with them.

Nightmares occur during a Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage of sleep, which (in simple terms) we usually enter approximately 90 minutes after falling asleep, and then every 90 minutes throughout the night. The images and content of the nightmare will frighten the sleeper, who will usually wake up with a vivid and detailed recall of a dream. Nightmares are psychological in nature – they are normal dreams that scare us because the theme or content of the dream needs to be addressed in waking life. I recommend taking advantage of the gift of the message that the nightmare brings by acting on it in waking life.

Night terrors occur during stage 4 sleep, a deep non-REM phase, usually within 15 minutes to an hour after going to bed. It can last anywhere from five to twenty minutes. While anyone can experience a night terror, they are most often reported in children 3 to 5 years old. In the midst of a night terror, the sleeper’s heart rate can increase to 160 – 170 beats per minute, the eyes may be open, and they can move about since the paralysis of REM sleep is not present; and they can be gasping, sweating and screaming even though they are still asleep. In the morning, they usually have no recollection of the events experienced (there are exceptions to this as some sufferers do remember details of the experience). Night terrors are thought by researchers to be caused by a chemical trigger in the brain which causes the brain to “misfire”. These misfires can be caused by factors like stress, medications, and some medical conditions. The night terror itself is not dangerous to the sleeper, however the objects in their environment may be. It’s best to ensure that there is nothing in the area that can be used to hurt themselves or others. Night terrors generally run in families, as do bed-wetting and sleep-walking, which are also stage 4 sleep disorders, or parasomnias.

Sleep paralysis occurs when you are aware that you are awake, however you are unable to move or scream for help. It is usually accompanied by the feeling of an ominous or demonic presence either in the room or sitting on top of you, holding you down and trying to suffocate you. Sleep paralysis occurs when the dreamer becomes conscious before the normal paralysis of REM sleep has worn off, and is thought to be caused by a disrupted sleep schedule, stress, anxiety, some medication and stimulants (caffeine) and fatigue. By understanding and accepting the inevitability of what is happening, some sufferers have learned to use the experience of sleep paralysis as a kicking off point to induce a lucid dream.

For more information on Night Terrors, check out the Night Terror Resource Center website.

For more information on Sleep Paralysis and Lucid Dreaming, check out Ryan Hurd’s, Dream Studies website.

This video is an excellent summary of the different stages of sleep:

This post originally appeared on dreamscloud.com.