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As Sleep Watch continues Michael Mosley goes to Cambridge to meet Jody. Her night terrors are keeping her awake at night.
This is what's called parasomnia.
Our night-vision footage shows just how distrubed Jody's sleep along with her poor partner's sleeping patterns.
When she's having night terrors - Jody appears to be awake because she's talking, sometimes arguing and even getting out of her bed but she is actually asleep.
Have you heard of night terrors? Or do you know someone who suffers from this?
Comments
It's worth reading the research that Durand and Mindell (1999) have conducted into sleep terrors. Scheduled awakening, if done consistently for at least two weeks, appears to be a successful intervention.
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My wife suffers from night terrors and I suppose myself from them. Her main enemy is killer tomatoes with spider like teeth, I dont know how she knows what spiders teeth look like she is petrified of them. I have learned not to try and make any sense out of her ramblings and my temptations on being roused to kill the intruder I think is in our house when the world is so obviously coming to an end.
Len, birmingham.
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My 10 year old son suffers from night terrors mostly when he is ill or worried. He never remembers what he has done. He can normally be talked back to sleep but will become extreemly distressed if touched. It was a bit scary at first (when he was 5) especially as he shouts out and cries, but some have been quite comical - like him sitting in front of a mirror with his legs folded as if he is in class at school!!
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The sleep terrors were interesting as I have a sleep condition and this is one part of it, the other parts are falling asleep anywhere at any time and whilst eating, in conversations and more worryingly whist crossing roads walking home! I dont drive as i fell asleep on my moped when i was 16 and crashed it.
I started at the age of 8 and was in and out of southampton hospital till i was 14, and now at 34 still have got no further with any diagnosis. If anyone can help let me know.
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i have sleep apnea i have been to papworth the treatment i recived has changed my life .I went to papworth in march 2005 suffering from mood swings falling asleep during the day never having a good night sleep and generally unwell.Went to papworth for a sleep study and this resulted in one of the worst cases of sleep apnea they had seen. In an 8 hour period i stopped breathing 900 times .The results of this scared the life out of me .I was a smoker and i weighted 23 stone .I was put on a cpap machine to wear at night this pushes air down the wind pipe to stop it from collapsing the thought of using this was a bit scary the fisrt night was not good but i needed to stick with it so i have and i have lost over 5 stone stopped smoking and i have a great night sleep every night the hospital are very pleased with the way i used the machine and taken on borad what they have told me
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I am a leading expert on meditation and stress management and have something profound to add to these findings. The problems with sleep nightmares are due to unresolved issues in our day due to stress and problems which may have been accumulated over time. If we have trouble facing these during the day they are enacted again during the sleep states via nightmares as a way of release the tensions. It’s our systems way of release tensions and anxieties. Meditation can resolve these problems very easily and quickly. We have people with insomnia problems that are cured within a few months. What’s more – all our non-residential courses are free (donations encouraged). Meditation is worth trying for these types of problems. For more details please see www.fisu.org – FISU Meditation
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I have a 9 year old daughter who has suffered from night terrors since she was 2 years old. She will start by screaming and shouting. This is followed by near hysteria and crying ( where tears will actually fall down her face ). She is totally unaware that anyone is in the room with her. After varying amounts of time from 5 mins to up to 1/2 hour she will either just fall back to sleep , or , as is more often the case , be violently sick which normally wakes her up. Over the past 9 months she has also started sleep walking and being violent during a terror. She will punch and kick and has tried to climb over the bannister upstairs. She has no recollection of any of her nocturnal activties in the morning.
We would really like some help or advice but do not know where to turn . A visit to a paediatrician resulted in us being told she will grow out of it. As she is getting older it is starting to impact more on her life ; she can`t have friends over for sleepovers or stay the night at anyone elses house , she has a school trip to France for a week in June 2009 and won`t be able to go unless we can find some solution to her sleep problems.
During the day she is a normal lively 9 year old.She loves school and sport and is passionate about dancing. At night she turns into a child possessed and we don`t know what to do .
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to lissjane my husband has been suffering from screaming nightmares for many years and apart from disturbing my sleep they didnt cause much trouble. he knew he had one and always apologised in the morning. 3 months ago he had very violent screaming night terrors that i was physically hurt, bruised and very frightened. he did not remember and i couldnt wake him. we tried single beds but i was still scared of him at night and now we have separated. can anyone give us any advice please. we are desperate
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Nightmares are often the result of experiencing severe trauma, such as a road crash, and with people who have endured head injuries.
I do know people who find themselves frantically grabbing their partner, falling out of bed, and so on.
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