Nocturnal panic attacks affect between half and seventy-five percent of people who suffer from an anxiety disorder.  Having a panic attack during the day is bad.  Having one when you’re in the dark causes even more distress.

Everything seems more upsetting at night. This is especially true if you’re alone.  I believe everyone, even someone who don’t suffer from, has had a night’s sleep disturbed by fear.

For folks without a panic problem, just turning on the lights and looking around their house is enough to let them get back to sleep.

It’s not nearly so simple for someone with a nighttime panic attack.

The things that happen with of a nocturnal anxiety attack are about the same as as a daytime one.  That is, the panic victim often feels a rapid heart beat, too-fast breathing, trembling, a feeling that something terrible is happening to them and so forth.  In short, everything that go with any panic attack.

Some people experience the sense of panic just as they’re drifting off to sleep.  For others, the panic comes out of nowhere while they’re soundly asleep.

Surprisingly, most people with nighttime panic attacks don’t think they have a nightmare preceding or with the attack.

If this is an issue you face realize that you leave them behind you.  But there are things you need to do to reach that goal.

To begin, you need to see your doctor.  Some physical problems that look a lot like the symptoms of a panic.  You need to be certain you don’t have a problem like that.

With night time panic attacks, sleep problems such as sleep apnea could be an underlying cause.  Don’t be surprised if your physician recommends evaluation in a sleep lab.

Once you know you’re physically OK, you need to practice good sleep hygiene.

This means doing things like eliminating, or at least cutting way back, on stimulants like caffeine.  Only use your bedroom for sleeping and romantic activities.  Don’t do things like watching TV or reading in your bedroom.

You want to create the association between being in bed and sleeping.

In addition, avoid looking at the news or watching upsetting movies or TV shows before you head to bed.  If you have an anxiety problem the last thing you want to do is to fill your mind with such images before bedtime.

You can find healthy sleeping habit ideas elsewhere.

The last thing I’ll recommend here is to get specific treatment for your panic disorder.

A nocturnal panic attack is really just a panic attack that happens to occur at night.  The fact that it happens in the middle of the night does make it more terrifying, but doesn’t affect the treatment plan.

Often, Your physician will suggest using drugs as well as cognitive restructuring.

One difference is that if the night time attacks really interfere with your ability toi get a night’s rest, your doctor may be more likely to prescribe a sedative at bedtime as a stop-gap treatment while longer term approaches have the time to take effect.

One concern with prescription sedatives is that they interfere with normal sleep patterns.  A night’s sleep because you’ve had a sedative isn’t the same as a normal good night’s sleep.

But it is a heck of a lot better than one interrupted by a panic attack.

Another problem with sedatives is that people can become dependent on them.  You need to know starting using these pills that it should only be temporary.  Part of beginning therapy should include a plan of how long you’re going to take the medicine and how you’re going to come off it.

Many people want to try more natural treatments before they resort to a prescription drug.  You can find a very good summary of natural sleep treatments at Night Time Panic Attacks Part 2.

In general, the natural sleep aids are well tolerated and do not disturb normal sleep rhythms.  For many people they’re as effective as the prescription drugs with out the problems.

This advice should get you well on your way down the path to relief.  If you want more information about all aspects of panic attacks and their treatment, visit Panic Attack Release.

And click here for a review of a great non-drug way to treat panic attacks.