Sleep Panic Attacks Can Be a Real "Nightmare"
A panic attack can be a horrifying experience for anyone.
They are scary enough when they happen in the day, but imagine having sleep panic attacks.
There you are, sound asleep in your bed when suddenly you are wide-awake, fighting to breathe, with chest pains and your bed is soaked with sweat.
You are having an attack while you are asleep! Of course, you are now awake and extremely terrified.
The symptoms of panic attacks whether you are awake or asleep are similar.
You feel like you cannot get enough air, your heart is racing, you have cold chills and or hot flashes, you feel sick to your stomach, you are choking and have tingling sensations in your fingers and toes.
Of course if you are asleep while these symptoms take place, you are having sleep panic attacks.
These days are lives can be very stressful.
Stress directly translates to insomnia which can lead to depression and all of which can cause an attack, whether we are awake or not.
Attacks during sleep are far less common than regular daytime attacks; however they can be much more frightening for obvious reasons.
An attack at any time is terrifying because of the unreasonable terror that grips the sufferer.
Sleep apnea can be another cause of sleep panic attacks.
This is because sleep apnea is known to cause periods where a person actually stops breathing.
This can cause you to fight for breath, and in waking up fighting to breathe, you can perceive this as a panic attack symptom and actually suffer from an attack from this experience.
Depending on what is happening in your life at that moment, life events can trigger an attack during your sleep.
Life stressors are like a thermostat.
When stress lowers your resistance, underlying physical symptoms come into play and can trigger an attack.
When we are resting at night in bed and sleeping, this is a time where some of these stressors can surface and cause attacks.
Panic attacks are not caused by dreams.
They usually occur during the early sleep phase and we generally do not have dreams until the later stages of sleep.
Another cause of sleep panic attacks could be false suffocation alarm hypothesis or a buildup of CO2 in the body during sleep which in turn causes a shortness of breath, a symptom which is also present in attacks.
The main issue with attacks while you are sleeping is that you may become afraid to go to sleep.
If you do not get the sleep you need, then you are more prone to depression and stress and it becomes a vicious cycle, promoting a higher incidence of attacks.
If attacks start to occur much more frequently while you are sleeping, you may want to consider a stress management program, relaxation techniques before retiring for the night, such as having a relaxing bubble bath, a cup of herbal tea, and doing some deep breathing exercises.
They are scary enough when they happen in the day, but imagine having sleep panic attacks.
There you are, sound asleep in your bed when suddenly you are wide-awake, fighting to breathe, with chest pains and your bed is soaked with sweat.
You are having an attack while you are asleep! Of course, you are now awake and extremely terrified.
The symptoms of panic attacks whether you are awake or asleep are similar.
You feel like you cannot get enough air, your heart is racing, you have cold chills and or hot flashes, you feel sick to your stomach, you are choking and have tingling sensations in your fingers and toes.
Of course if you are asleep while these symptoms take place, you are having sleep panic attacks.
These days are lives can be very stressful.
Stress directly translates to insomnia which can lead to depression and all of which can cause an attack, whether we are awake or not.
Attacks during sleep are far less common than regular daytime attacks; however they can be much more frightening for obvious reasons.
An attack at any time is terrifying because of the unreasonable terror that grips the sufferer.
Sleep apnea can be another cause of sleep panic attacks.
This is because sleep apnea is known to cause periods where a person actually stops breathing.
This can cause you to fight for breath, and in waking up fighting to breathe, you can perceive this as a panic attack symptom and actually suffer from an attack from this experience.
Depending on what is happening in your life at that moment, life events can trigger an attack during your sleep.
Life stressors are like a thermostat.
When stress lowers your resistance, underlying physical symptoms come into play and can trigger an attack.
When we are resting at night in bed and sleeping, this is a time where some of these stressors can surface and cause attacks.
Panic attacks are not caused by dreams.
They usually occur during the early sleep phase and we generally do not have dreams until the later stages of sleep.
Another cause of sleep panic attacks could be false suffocation alarm hypothesis or a buildup of CO2 in the body during sleep which in turn causes a shortness of breath, a symptom which is also present in attacks.
The main issue with attacks while you are sleeping is that you may become afraid to go to sleep.
If you do not get the sleep you need, then you are more prone to depression and stress and it becomes a vicious cycle, promoting a higher incidence of attacks.
If attacks start to occur much more frequently while you are sleeping, you may want to consider a stress management program, relaxation techniques before retiring for the night, such as having a relaxing bubble bath, a cup of herbal tea, and doing some deep breathing exercises.
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