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Posted by Dr. B on October 20, 1997 at 18:07:41:In Reply to: night terrors?? posted by Carol on October 20, 1997 at 11:56:06:
Dear Carol,
These are terrifying but not night terrors. They are hypnapompic hallucinations. It is an intrusion of REM (dream sleep) into wakefulness. Usually they are faces of unknown people that appear right there in the room with you. The reason they are frightening is that you can see them and recognize your room in the background (where you know they shouldn't be). During dreaming you suspend judgement, during hypnopompic hallucinations are fully aware they shouldn't be there. They are nothing to worry about (medically) if this is the only symptom you have. If you were to check a clock you may find these episodes closer to an hour and a half after you fall asleep. If they are consistently earlier and you have sleep attacks during the day, you should see a sleep specialist. In addition, if they really bother you, a short-acting sleep medication may help you not wake up during one of these episodes. Again, I recommend a sleep specialist to help you with this choice.
Good Luck
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