“Really, a nightmare just really has to evoke some sort of, we call it, dysphoric emotion or something uncomfortable. You could be sad, you could be unhappy; you could be scared, anxious. But traditionally, the definition is you have to awaken from this nightmare.” EmotionDefinitionsScaredUnhappyUncomfortableNightmareAnxiousEvoke Author:Shelby Harris
“So you have it, you awaken from it and you can recall, in detail, what just happened, that's a nightmare. So it's very different from a dream where you generally don't wake up from it and you don't have this dysphoric emotion.” DifferentDreamEmotionHappenedWake UpDetailsNightmareRecalls Author:Shelby Harris
“There's some debate as to whether you need to awaken from them because there are some patients who are actually starting to say, "I had these horrible nightmares, but I never woke up from them." But they can still recall them when they get up in the morning. So there's still some debate in the field.” NeedsStillsMorningFieldsPatientStartingDebateHorribleGet UpNightmareRecalls Author:Shelby Harris
“When it comes to the reason why we have nightmares, we're still debating that. It's a new area of research, nightmares. And the way I like to think about it is, our brain - we have stress during the day and our brain needs to learn to process this stress.” ThinkingWayNeedsStillsReasonProcessBrainResearchAreasStressReason WhyNightmare Author:Shelby Harris
“There are people who have repetitive nightmares. And what happens is their brain is trying to process the stress and help their brain actually deal with what happens if this stress happens again, so their brain's preparing them to deal with it in case the stress happens again, but it's so scary that they awaken from it.” PeopleIfsTryingHelpingHappensProcessDealsBrainCasesStressScaryNightmarePreparingRepetitive Author:Shelby Harris
“Night terrors are very different from nightmares. A lot of people will think they're the same, but they're really not. Night terrors - you want to look at the time of night when you're having the problem. Night Terrors happen in deep sleep. Nightmares tend to happen in a lighter REM sleep.” PeopleThinkingWantLooksDifferentProblemHappensNightSleepTerrorNightmareLightersDeep SleepNight Terrors Author:Shelby Harris
“Night terrors are in deep sleep, and they're more common in kids, as are nightmares, but what happens in a night terror is like a flash - we think a flash of some image or something happens in the brain. We don't really quite know what. And it usually ends up with the child screaming almost like screaming bloody murder. It's very scary for the parents or whoever else is around.” ThinkingKnowsChildrenEndsHappensKidsNightParentSleepCommonBrainMurderTerrorScaryThings HappenNightmareFlashBloodyDeep SleepNight Terrors Author:Shelby Harris
“We think is happening in the brain, the way I like to think about it is, it's almost like, you're brain is going through all these stages of sleep and it's developing in children so fast that it's almost like you're shifting gears in a car. And at some point, you actually stall out a little bit, and that's kind of what happens during a night terror.” ThinkingWayKindChildrenLittlesHappensNightBitsSleepBrainStageCarLike YouLittle BitHappeningsTerrorDevelopingShiftingGearsNight Terrors Author:Shelby Harris
“Now there's some night terrors that happen in adults. And if it starts as an adult and you've never had them before, then there might be other things that are happening; it might be anxiety, depression, stress. And that's when you might have more of a thorough psychological evaluation.” IfsMightHappensNightAnxietyHappeningsAdultsStressTerrorPsychologicalThoroughEvaluationNight TerrorsAnxiety Depression Author:Shelby Harris
“Sleep paralysis is something that is actually very common. Many people have it, I've had it myself. And what happens is, when you're in that REM stage of sleep, your brain is very active. You're dreaming your most during that stage, you're mind, your eyes are moving, there's a lot going on. It's like fireworks going on in your brain.” PeopleMindDreamHappensEyeMovingSleepCommonBrainStageActiveCommon ManParalysisFireworks Author:Shelby Harris
“Some patients will report that they have sleep paralysis. If we see sleep paralysis alone and nothing else, we don't really think all that much of it, but if we see other symptoms, then it might be a red flag for something else that's going on.” IfsThinkingMightSleepRedPatientReportsFlagsSymptomsParalysisRed Flags Author:Shelby Harris
“There are some that are - REM Behavior Disorder, we'll see some court documented cases. And they really need to have a thorough evaluation with a sleep specialist.” NeedsSleepCasesBehaviorCourtDisorderThoroughSpecialistsEvaluation Author:Shelby Harris
“There's confusional arousals, there are states in deeper sleep that can happen where people will go and they'll disappear and they'll take on some other persona. They'll commit some crime, but it's all when they are in a very deep stage of sleep. So you really need to have a very thorough evaluation.” PeopleNeedsStatesHappensSleepStageCrimeDeeperDisappearCommitPersonaThoroughVery DeepEvaluationArousal Author:Shelby Harris
“Narcolepsy is a disorder that affects many different areas of life. So in typical patients with narcolepsy, they have something called "excessive daytime sleepiness." So, they're very sleepy during the day. Yet, at night, they're still sleepy, but their sleep is very broken.” StillsDifferentNightSleepBrokenAreasPatientDisorderTypicalSleepyDaytimeSleepinessNarcolepsy Author:Shelby Harris
“Now narcolepsy is really hard though because they're very tired during the day, they're sleepy during the day and it's managed mostly with medications. So we use medications to help them sleep better at night and to stay away during the day. But there are behavioral things you can do also by changing diet, exercise, having an actual nap schedule.” HardHelpingUseNightCan DoSleepExerciseTiredDietsSchedulesMedicationNapsSleepyUsing MeNarcolepsy Author:Shelby Harris
