The stressors we have to live with today that cause us to lose sleep were not something that our ancestors had to deal with. Due to such lack of sleep during the night we tend to feel tired and beat during the day. If not addressed, these sleepless nights will turn into nocturnal anxiety attacks which will disrupt the normal cycle of our lives.
As humans we have this pattern where we are awake for a certain time and we sleep for a certain time. If we are lucky we are awake for close to 16 hours and we sleep for 8. This is indeed a never ending cycle that we would have to abide by. When something causes a disruption in the normal course of life, the sleep awake balance is lost and problems start to arise. People who have a tendency of sleeping less than usual are likely to suffer from chronic sleep problems and one such issue of concern is sleep panic attacks.
A dependable diagnosis of sleep panic attacks is more more difficult because the disorder is a mix of several different symptoms which indicate various other sleep disorders. During the initial stages of the attack you might be unable to sleep well at night and this would manifest the absence of restfulness after you wake up. You are advised to seek a professional to help you through this when such a situation occurs.
The standard symptoms of panic attacks while sleeping are insomnia, drowsiness during the day and irregular sleeping patterns. Insomnia is more frequent than the other two symptoms in the initial stages. Also panic attacks during sleep are popular with people having improper sleeping behaviors.
It is reported that of all the anxiety disorder sufferers, as many as 50 percent likely experience night panic attacks. Although the majority of their attacks occur during their waking hours.
Sadly, people that suffer from panic attacks while sleeping build up a fear of sleeping which makes matters worse. Word of caution: do not try to address or resolve these problems with sleeping pills. They won't work and what you may end up with is an addiction that will complicate your situation.
Sleep panic attacks cannot be associated with dreams as the attack tends to come upon at the earlier stages of Rapid Eye Movement or REM.Therefore, dreams cannot be held accountable for triggering panic attacks. Also, the occurrence of nocturnal anxiety attacks can result in sudden waking up, tremblings, shortness of breath, fearfulness, sweating and shudders. Such symptoms usually come when the person is in deep sleep.
The discovery of the cause of sleep panic attacks has not been made. But it is said that the suspected cause might be the building up of CO2 or carbon dioxide within the body while we sleep. This is known to be the "false suffocation alarm."
Panic attacks can be treated and medications can completely eliminate the signs of such attacks.
Nonetheless, medications should be used as the last weapon for intervention as these disorders can be cured with certain restrictions and changes. To be clear, we're talking about anxiety medications and not sleeping pills.
A very significant part or beginning to your intervention is for you to make peace with yourself. Before you try to explain your situation to anyone else you must first understand it The more you talk about your situation the better the intervention. Some sufferers experienced a reduction of panic attacks after they quit smoking and limited their use of caffeine and alcohol. Since these substances can intensify the attack it is best to limit their use. Additionally I would say that self help is the best help to cure night panic attacks.
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