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I woke up screaming, convinced that there were thousands of spiders crawling on me.

I ran out of my bedroom and had to be calmed down by my parents.

A woman lying in bed after waking from a night terror with her hands over her eyes, scared

So, I decided to learn more about it.

Why do night terrors or hallucinations occur?

What is the brain doing when they occur?

A teenage boy with his head in his arms sleeping on a book while he studies

And, most importantly, is there any way to stop them?

Jennifer Acostamadiedo, a sleep medicine physician at UCLA Health.

She has worked as a staff physician at UCLA Health, Kaiser Permanente and Sleep Health MD.

A woman with long brown hair sits up in bed covered in a pink comforter and yawns because she is so sleep deprived

I often wake up screaming, hallucinating spiders crawling on my bed.

Are these night terrors?

But there are also hallucinations.

A woman’s hands holding a notebook and a pen, about to begin writing in a journal in bed

Even though they feel like night terrors, hallucinations are very common."

“When we dont have a recollection, theyre more likely to be in stage 3 deep sleep.

So thats the big difference.

A woman is sat on the end of her bed with her head in her hands as she can�t sleep because of nighttime anxiety

But they are connected.”

I started experiencing this when I was a teenager, is that a common age?

Chronotypes are the natural preferences of wake and sleeping times.

Bare feet poking out of the covers at the end of a bed

“Hallucinations as you describe are really really common in teenagers.

There are two types, one we call hypnagogic hallucination and hypnogogic hallucinations.

“They are also common in teenagers because they are related to sleep deprivation.

Woman lying awake in bed at night

When we are sleep deprived, we get changes to the normal structure of our sleep.

And theyre very scary.

What can trigger night terrors?

A woman with dark hair lies in bed yawning because she is so tired and ready to sleep

“Sleep deprivationis a super common trigger.

The second one is that any stress will trigger these events.

Emotional stress, like anxiety, depression, or just having a rough day are all big triggers.

Young autistic woman can�t sleep because of her sensory differences.

Then you also have to consider alcohol and medications.

Especially medications that alter your brain chemistry, likeantidepressants.

We know the family of SSRIs have a big impact on your REM sleep.

The image shows a sleep deprived woman lying in bed and holding her hands over her eyes

Stress will push you to the edge if your physiology means youre prone to night terrors.

Therefore, even if you sleep 7-9 hours, are you really sleeping for 7-9 hours?

But it can happen.

A woman with curly hair napping on a yellow sofa with a long haired labrador listening to binaural beats

“But knowing what triggers specific night terrors or hallucinations depends a lot on when they occur.”

Everyone in society assumes we just need 7 hours, but with my experience everyone is different.

Theres nothing abnormal about that, its just how your body functions.”

A chocolate Easter egg in pink tin foil next to image of blonde woman in purple star patterned pyjamas struggling to sleep in bed with white sheets

I also sleep talk and move around a lot.

“Our motor system is connected with our brain, specifically the dopamine pathway, so they are connected.

REM (rapid eye movement) is the fourth stage in our sleep cycle.

Woman lying down on the bed and smiling feeling comfortable

This is when brain activity increases, which is why most people will experience dreams during this stage.

I was on SSRIs a couple of years ago.

Would it have any lasting effect?

A woman lying on her side sleeping with a handdrawn thought bubble over her head to show she�s thinking

“I want to say yes and no.

My hallucinations are always spiders.

How common is it to have one recurring theme and what causes it?

A woman with dark brown hair lies on her side staring at the back of a white alarm clock that shows the time as 2.30am

Shadows is the most common.

But theres nothing I can tell you about knowing exactly why these happen.

My mum experiences the same as me, could genetics be at play here, too?

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Are there any ways to prevent night terrors?

What days did you have those nightmares?

“Like, lets start with the most obvious.

Diego Luna (as Cassian Andor) in Ferrix in ANDOR

Did I have any stress or emotional impact?

Did I go out and have some drinks with some friends?

Did my husband tell me I was more active that night?

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Is there anything else you think would be helpful for the readers to know?

“I mean, definitely checking if youre snoring, becausesleep apneais overseen.

“Another consideration is alcohol.

Joanna Gaines

Sleep is as important as being awake because our bodies recover when we sleep.

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