Night terrors are different from nightmares and sleep paralysis, and are experienced during non-REM sleep, rather than during the dreaming episodes of REM sleep. The often occur during the first sleep cycle of about 90 minutes, or if the dreamer has become fully awake in the morning, and then drifted back into sleep again.

The dreamer may appear to be distressed, perhaps shouting and thrashing their arms and legs seemingly uncontrollably. If the dreamer wakes up, they may have a feeling of dread, but if they go back to sleep, they are unlikely to recall the experience when they wake again.

Night terrors are most often triggered by stress, illness, alcohol or lack of quality sleep. Although the best way to avoid night terrors is to avoid any of these triggers, this is not always possible, so it is best to just try and let the feeling of terror pass and fade away. This may be impossible if the terror is experienced deeply, and it can be difficult to remain calm.

To maintain  a feeling of calm, it may be useful to have a solid reference object like a pebble or a key beside your bed, so you can touch it to ground yourself back into reality and help dissipate the feeling of terror.

In our increasingly connected and switched on world, many people find it difficult to disconnect and switch off. For many, a good night’s sleep has become a luxury, like a celebration meal or a drinks party. However, ensuring that we have enough sleep is probably the single most important factor in leading a healthy life.

Without adequate sleep, our immune system begins to suffer, making us far more vulnerable to minor ailments like colds and flu, and making it more difficult for us to recover from serious illnesses. Our judgement becomes impaired and we find it far more difficult to concentrate and retain information.

There are a number of simple things we can do to ensure that we experience high quality sleep. The key factor is that your sleep environment should be for sleeping only. A television or computer in your bedroom will often over stimulate your conscious mind as it begans to relax prior to sleep.

It is also helpful to avoid caffeine before a sleep period, and also heavy meals and alcohol consumption, as these will prevent the body from becoming deeply relaxed, and so prevent a deep sleep experience.

Sleep Paralysis is an unsettling experience when a person feels as if they are physically paralysed and unable to perform any voluntary movements. It is usually experienced just as the person is falling asleep or waking up, and can be quite disturbing.

The cause of sleep paralysis is a protective physiological function that has evolved to prevent our body moving around when we are dreaming. Instead of physically acting out a dream, our brain blocks nerve signals to the large anti-gravity muscles in our limbs and torso. This creates the sensation of paralysis, and quite often a constricting feeling, like there is a person or a weight pressing down on our chest.

Due to the nature of this physiological function, sleep paralysis almost invariably occurs during REM episodes when we are dreaming, and so if we waken suddenly from a dream, we can feel paralysed with the dream imagery still lingering in our perception. This can lead to a variety of hallucinations. Sleep paralysis usually occurs when we are stressed and have been deprived of REM sleep, so when we fall asleep we go straight into a REM episode with our bodies being insufficiently relaxed.