Would you classify this as sleep (night) terror? (1 Viewer)

[Wade]

I had been asleep for about an hour before I was awaken by my wife who had been startled by a small earthquake. I did not feel or hear the earthquake but the way she moved and called my name startled the shit out of me. I awoke and was totally disoriented. I sat up and could hear and see her but was unable to respond coherently. I constantly looked around the room, my breathing was heavy and my heart was pounding like a jack hammer. I don't remember what I was thinking about or trying to say though. I'm sure I came out of it after a few seconds but it felt like an eternity to me. I looked in the mirror and my eyes were as big as I had ever seen them. I was unable to sleep for a couple of hours and my wife said I still looked like a ghost.
I'm still freaked out by this and I don't know why. As far as I know I wasn't having a bad dream at the time.
Has anybody ever experienced anything like this?
Wade

 

[Ryan Wright]

I'd guess you had a major adrenaline rush... I've had a similar thing happen to me. My wife scares rather easily, and when a loud noise wakes us up in the middle of the night, she pulls the covers over her head, grabs onto me and hangs on for dear life. Well, one night (a couple of years ago) we woke up to a loud bang and I was POSITIVE someone was in our house. She screamed and grabbed me, and I was fumbling for the light switch (I'm into home automation and have a small controller next to my bed that, among other things, allows me to turn on every light in the house with the press of a single button). At the same time, I'm literally scared for my life and the lives of my family, trying to get to the closet to grab my shotgun, and having to fight my wife off because she won't let go of me. It seemed like an eternity before I was able to get my gun into my hands, and the whole time my eyes were fixed on the bedroom door, fully expecting someone to come charging in with a weapon of their own.
As soon as I got my shotgun I charged into the living room, but nobody was there. Looked all over the house, but never did find out what the noise was...
Took us forever to get back to sleep. My body was pumping adrenaline big time.
Since we moved into our new house, I've placed sensors on all of the doors and windows. If someone enters my house while we're asleep, all the lights will turn on automatically, a siren will sound, and the location of the security breach is announced five times over a whole-house audio system ("Front door.... Front door.... Front door"). Now when we hear a noise in the middle of the night, my wife doesn't freak out - we know it's nothing. On the other hand, if someone has the balls to come into the house even after the alarm has sounded and the lights have turned on, I'll be in their face with a shotgun by the time they get halfway across the living room.
------------------
-Ryan (http://www.ryanwright.com )
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you do criticize them, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

 

[Wade]

Ryan,
Your probably right about it being a major adrenaline rush but damn it had a freaky affect on me. It's probably due to the fact I wasn't fully able to come around right away and my mind was still in some sort of deep dream state. Night terrors is something completely different but some of the things I experienced were similar to night terror symptoms. Freaked my wife out whatever it was.
I think my wife would love for our future house to be automated that way. She spooks easily and anything I could do to limit her fears would be greatly appreciated.
Wade

 

[Jamie E]

I felt that earthquake last night too, Wade (I was about 40 miles from the epicenter). I woke up and felt the last of the shaking subsiding. I was startled, but was able to get back to sleep pretty quickly since I recognized what it was. What is the definition of night terror? I've never heard of that before.
------------------

Release the hounds!

[Edited last by Jamie E on October 31, 2001 at 02:54 PM]

 

[Wade]

Jamie,
The earthquake didn't even phase me. The way I woke up did. I have been startled out of sleep before but I have never experienced anything like this.
After a little research I have found night terrors to be totally different than what I thought it was. The way I felt does not classify as night terror but I still felt as though I was in fear of something.
You can check here for some night terror info: http://www.nightterrors.org/
Wade

 

[Marc Carra]

Wade,
I had that happen to me twice as a kid! Once when I was 10 and later on when I was 12. I've never heard of anyone else having the same experience until now. I had the exact same symptoms. I couldn't speak properly , yet I could see and hear what was happening. When I did speak, I didn't make any sense whatsoever. It freaked the hell out of me, especially since I was young. I think both instances were caused by being awaken by something suddenly, at night. I'm glad it hasn't happened since then. I still rememeber each night vividly and I'm 33 now.
Marc.

 

[Max Knight]

Ryan,
That is an incredible sounding system! I'm guessing that hearing their exact location announced would have any would-be home invaders crapping in their pants well before you showed up with the shotgun! How exactly did you wire that? Please start another thread if you feel it's necessary.
-Max

 

[Ryan Wright]

See my post Home Automation for more info on the system.
------------------
-Ryan (http://www.ryanwright.com )
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you do criticize them, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

 

[Wade]

It is a freaky thing Marc.
A couple of comments from the above link appear to fit the bill:
Night terrors, on the other hand, occur during a phase of deep non-REM sleep usually within an hour after the subject goes to bed. This is also known as stage 4.
Night terrors have been shown to appear in stage 4 of sleep. This is what separates them from nightmares which can occur anytime in sleep. It is possible to make a night terror occur in some people, simply by touching or awakening them during stage 4 of sleep
Interesting stuff indeed.
[Edited last by Wade on October 31, 2001 at 08:55 PM]

 

[Wayne Murphy]

When we first got married my wife freaked me out a couple of times. She would be sitting up crying, screaming, shaking or saying something like there coming to get him youv'e got to stop them. I would tell her it was just a dream and try to calm her down. She would just keep repeating this stuff. I thought she was awake cuz her eyes were open but she wasn't. All I could do was pretend to do whatever she was asking me to do and this would calm her down she'd lay back down and continue to sleep. In the morning she would have absolutely no recolection of the event. This would happen a couple times a month until were we married for 2 years or so.
She never has them any more.
I have never had a scary dream. I wonder why some people get them and I never do?

 

[Kevin P]

My wife will, on occasion, wake up screaming. After she's awake, she never seems to remember what she was dreaming. Usually if I have a nightmare I'll remember it vividly when I wake up. I wonder if she's experiencing a form of night terror (this is the first time I've heard of this phenomenon). In her case it seems to be very sudden, she'll just scream, wake up, and then calm down... of course, we're both awake afterward and can't get back to sleep!
It's interesting that I encountered this thread today, because it happened last night. She only wakes up screaming once in a while, maybe 3-4 times a year.
KJP