Night terror

Disease	Injury	Nutrition	Poison

Special Topic	Surgery	Symptoms	Test

Night terror

Alternative Names:

Pavor nocturnus; Sleep terror disorder

Symptoms:

sudden awakening from sleep
persistent fear or terror that occurs at night
screaming
sweating
confusion
rapid heart rate
unable to explain what happened
no recall of "bad dreams" or nightmares
- may have a vague sense of frightening images
unable to fully arouse
difficult to comfort
no memory of the event on awakening the next day

Note: Episodes are most common in the first third of the night. They may last 10 to 20 minutes, then normal sleep returns.

Signs and tests:

In many cases, no further examination or testing is necessary. If night terror is severe or prolonged, psychologic evaluation may be appropriate.

Review Date: 11/9/2001
Reviewed By: Galit Kleiner-Fisman MD, FRCPC, Department of Neurology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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