Nightmare Disorder vs. Night Terrors
Dear writing community these two are not the same at all. I have an official diagnosis of nightmare disorder, and have suffered from it since early childhood. I also grew up around two family members who have night terrors. I know my experiences are not the same as everyone, so feel free to do some more research.
I see a lot of misconceptions between the two. So here’s how they’re different, and other things you should keep in mind when writing characters who experience either of these.
-People with nightmare disorder are likely to wake from their nightmares, knowing exactly what woke them.
-People having a night terror are quite difficult to wake, and can be confused for a moment afterwards.
-Night Terrors have the person thrashing, screaming, and/or acting out their dreams. They are truly still asleep though.
-Nightmares are much more subtle, and not all people move restlessly in their sleep when having one. When they do scream, or thrash they tend to wake up soon.
-In nightmare disorder; thrashing about, screaming, crying, restlessness, sudden movement, and acting things out don’t happen very frequently. They do happen, but only so often. Daytime events can influence an increase though.
-People who have night terrors aren’t likely to remember their dreams. The dreams they have during these, are stored and forgotten like normal dreams.
-Nightmares are far more memorable.
-Nightmare Disorder has “variants” and can differ depending on the source. PTSD based nightmares are not the same as Anxiety nightmares. Unfortunately not all sources and its effects are known yet. I was born with mine, and not much is known about the possible source.
-Nightmare disorder has incredibly vivid dreams. I could make a whole post on vivid dreams.
-Night terrors happen closer to the beginning of sleep, while nightmares occur deeper in during REM sleep.
-Nightmare Disorder have more side effects, due to a lack of sleep leading to a painful cycle of developing more parasomnias and symptoms (like having nightmare disorder, then also developing sleep paralysis due to constant waking)
-Night terrors are sometimes triggered by fever, stress, or lack of sleep.
-People with PTSD can experience and be diagnosed with both
