who never have done it before.
SLEEP TERRORS (307.46) Sleep terrors or “night terrors” are similar in origin to sleepwalking but with different behaviors. It is an arousal disorder in which the patient awakens partially from a non-REM sleep state. This usually happens in children who will awaken suddenly, scream or cry without consolation for up to 30 minutes. There are autonomic indications of fear as well. These things will only happen at night and will not happen during naptime. It usually occurs in the first third of the sleep period. Sleep terrors are not the same as awakening from a nightmare, even when they happen during deep sleep. The person awakening from a nightmare will be awake and will remember the nightmare. There may be fragments of a dream remembered in sleep terrors but not to the degree that they are remembered in a simple nightmare. The sleep terror individual cannot be consoled and will not be oriented. Nightmares occur in REM sleep and not in NREM sleep. Episodes of sleep terrors do not necessarily qualify as having sleep terror disorder; there needs to be marked distress and impairment for this to be a disorder. It cannot be secondary to drugs, medications, medical condition, or psychological problem. It is seen in early childhood and usually resolved by adulthood. Episodes can be seen in about 37 percent of those kids at 18 months, with a prevalence of episodes at about 20 percent by 30 months of age. Episodes can be seen in adults at a rate of 2 percent but this does not necessarily qualify as a disorder. There is no specific treatment for sleep terrors except engaging in better sleep hygiene. Most children outgrow the disorder with time. Adults with the disorder can undergo CBT to help them improve the quality of their sleep so they can have improved daytime functioning. The distress seen with the disorder can be seen by the parents of an affected child or by the sleeping partner if the individual is an adult. Things that should be ruled out include PTSD, which generally causes nightmares rather than true sleep terror episodes.
187
