If your sleep is disturbed by your own involuntary behaviour during the night, you may have a disruptive sleep disorder.
To help you identify the sleep problem you are having, we explore the symptoms of each type of disruptive sleep disorder below.
Night terrors
Also called sleep terrors, night terrors are type of sleep disorder called a parasomnia.
You may have night terrors if you experience the following symptoms:
- waking from sleep suddenly with a scream
- dilated pupils and a look of terror
- fast breathing and rapid heartbeat
- sweating
- high blood pressure
You may not wake fully when this happens and probably won’t recall the incident in the morning.
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is another type of parasomnia. People who sleepwalk may do one of more of the following during the night while they are asleep:
- get out of bed
- walk around the house
- get dressed
- prepare or eat food
- walk out of the house
- try to drive a car
If you sleepwalk, you may appear to be awake when you aren’t. Your eyes may be open, but you will not acknowledge other people. You probably won’t remember sleepwalking in the morning.
Confusional arousals
Confusional arousals are a parasomnia where you appear to awake from a deep sleep but behave strangely. You may:
- appear confused
- have slurred speech
- respond bluntly
- not remember things
Confusional arousals normally happen in the first part of the night. You may fall back to sleep and not remember the episode.
If confusional arousals happen in the morning this is called sleep inertia.