Anxiety attacks at night make up approximately 10% of all panic attacks.
Why are these attacks riddling the nights of people everywhere? Is it possible that they could be started by our dreams? Panic attacks have not been shown to be caused by dreaming.
Dreaming takes place in the REM, deep stages of sleep.
Anxiety attacks have been shown to start in the lighter phases of sleep.
There is a separate sleep disorder that has a lot of the same symptoms as a panic attack.
It is called Pavor nocturnus.
Pavor nocturnus, or night terrors, often have the same symptoms of a panic attack.
A person will wake up sweating, with rapid heartbeat and breathing, gasping for air, moaning, or screaming.
Oftentimes, they will not awaken fully.
When they awaken the next morning, they will not even remember the episode.
Night terrors are more common among children, but they are experienced by adults as well.
In children, they are most likely caused by inadequate sleep or a fever.
When experienced by an adult, they could be caused by inadequate sleep, poor diet, stress, or health problems like hypoglycemia.
Pavor nocturnus is often mistaken for panic attacks, but this is not a reasonable explanation for the symptoms that many anxiety sufferers experience.
Nobody knows for sure if there are additional factors for anxiety attacks at night.
They are most likely the outcome of a stressful day before.
Many times an anxious thinker will be too distracted until the end of the day until they can truly appreciate their worries, resulting in a panic attack.
Other contributing factors could be an abundance of Carbon dioxide in the home, making the body think it is suffocating during sleep, and therefore starting the physiological process of panic.
They could also be due to what we put into our bodies before bedtime.
Things like caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol can provoke panic attacks, especially in those with existing anxiety issues.
There are things we can do to prevent anxiety attacks at night, like relaxation exercises, breathing exercises, or following a self help routine as outlined in books, videos, or other resources.