What is the Difference Between Night Terrors and Nightmares?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚Night terrors and nightmares are both distressing sleep events, but they are different and occur at different stages of sleep. Here are the key differences between night terrors and nightmares:
- Wakefulness: During night terrors, a person may talk and move about but remains asleep, while nightmares are bad dreams that a person wakes up from and can remember.
- Timing: Nightmares typically occur during the last third of the night, in the REM phase of sleep, while night terrors happen in the early part of the night, sometimes more than once, lasting up to 15 minutes.
- Causes: Common causes of night terrors and nightmares include being very tired, unwell, or experiencing stress, anxiety, or worry. Night terrors can also be caused by certain medicines, conditions that affect sleep, or mental health conditions.
- Age: Night terrors are most common in children between the ages of 3 and 8, while nightmares can affect both children and adults.
- Recall: It is rare to remember having a night terror, while nightmares are more easily remembered upon waking.
Night terrors are more common in children and usually occur during the early part of the night, sometimes more than once, lasting up to 15 minutes. In contrast, nightmares can affect both children and adults and typically occur during the last third of the night, in the REM phase of sleep. Nightmares are intense dreams that may provoke terror, anger, or disgust and are more easily remembered than night terrors.
Comparative Table: Night Terrors vs Nightmares
Night terrors and nightmares are both distressing sleep events, but they have distinct differences. Here is a table summarizing the key differences between the two:
Feature | Night Terrors | Nightmares |
---|---|---|
Occurrence | During non-REM sleep, specifically stage-three sleep | During REM sleep |
Recall | Difficult to wake from, and individuals usually don't remember the episode the next morning | Easier to wake from, and people can usually recall the dream |
Prevalence | More common in children (about 40% of kids experience sleep terrors) and decreases with age | Relatively common, with around 50-80% of adults experiencing them occasionally |
Causes | Often runs in the family, with a strong genetic link, and may be associated with mental health disorders | Often linked to stressful situations or negative experiences |
Symptoms | Sudden onset, lasting a few minutes or even seconds, but may go on for 10-15 minutes, physical symptoms like sweating, rapid breathing, and confusion | Unpleasant or distressing dreams that are severe enough to wake the individual up |
To prevent and treat nightmares and night terrors, it is essential to establish better sleep hygiene, address underlying stress and anxiety, and create a consistent bedtime routine in a safe sleeping environment.
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