Night terrors are a scary occurrence that can affect anybody, no matter one's age. If you have night terrors that are waking your children and giving them their own problems, it may be time to examine your alcohol use and visit a sleep clinic for professional help.

Sleep Terrors Are Traumatic

Sleep terrors occur during the deepest period of sleep and are a bit like a nightmare come to life. A person experiencing night terrors may suddenly sit up in bed and scream for no reason. He or she may require calming by a friend or a loved one before being able to get back to sleep. This terror may even linger and make it difficult for the person to sleep later.

Unfortunately, suffering from this problem when you have children can be very traumatic for the children, too. A child hearing his or her parent screaming in fear is likely to experience his or her own terror. As a result, it is possible that your child could develop night terrors, too.

There are many potential causes of night terrors, including the use and abuse of alcohol. 

The Influence of Alcohol on Night Terrors

Alcohol affects sleep in a variety of different ways. While it may initially make a person drowsy, it often causes him or her to wake up during the night. Just as problematic, it can also cause excessive mental activity while a person sleeps that can turn into bad dreams or even nightmares.

Even worse, alcohol can cause severe night terrors that are hard to control. As a result, some parents who enjoy or abuse alcohol may experience these episodes and cause fear in their children.

How Sleep Clinics Can Help

If you find that your sleep terrors seem to occur on nights you drink heavily, you should go to a sleep clinic right away. These specialists will gauge what happens when you sleep, including what symptoms seem to indicate an episode of sleep terrors. They'll then find a way to manage this issue for you and anyone in your family who is affected.

If alcohol abuse is the cause of your night terrors, treatment may include going to an alcohol addiction treatment center to manage this issue. In some instances, it may be necessary to quit alcohol before you start an effective sleep treatment.

If your night terrors have another cause, a sleep study may be able to identify it. So please take the time to understand that a sleep clinic can help you identify the cause of your night terrors.