Panic attacks at night often occur for no particular reason and can wake you up from sleep in a state of extreme tension or panic.

What are the symptoms of a night-time panic attack?

What are the symptoms of a night-time panic attack?

The symptoms are not very different from daytime panic attacks:

• Increased pulse
• Rapid heartbeat
• Heavy sweating
• Feeling of suffocation
• Shivering
• Hot flashes or chills

All these symptoms are similar to those during heart attacks and other serious medical conditions. That’s why many people end up in hospital emergency rooms after their first panic attack.

Night-time panic attacks usually occur without any obvious trigger and the fact that they wake you up from sleep makes their effect even stronger than daytime panic attacks, which you can at least somewhat anticipate.

How long does a night panic attack last?

Panic attacks at night tend to last less than those during the day. A night-time panic attack can be over in minutes. But because you wake up from sleep in a panic and then fear you will have another attack as soon as you try to fall asleep, you may develop insomnia.

Several clinical studies have shown that sleep deprivation leads to anxiety. Which, in turn, can intensify or even worsen panic attacks. Which creates a vicious circle: you can’t sleep well because of panic attacks, sleep deprivation produces more anxiety which in turn produces more panic attacks.

Why do panic attacks occur at night?

Not much research has been done on the subject of night-time panic attacks.

What is known, however, is that there are a number of factors that contribute to their occurrence. Even when we sleep, our brains don’t go into complete rest. It continues to process daytime events, emotions, thoughts or moods. This processing sometimes takes the form of dreams and nightmares, and some nightmares can cause a panic attack during sleep.

Other factors that favour the onset of nocturnal panic attacks are:

• High stress
• Anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and other mental illnesses
• Use of neuro-stimulants such as caffeine
• Cannabis use
• Genetic factors
• Chronic diseases
• Bereavement, loss of a loved one
• Major life changes: loss of job, having a child, and so on
• Withdrawal

Can nocturnal panic attacks be prevented?

There are some lifestyle changes you can make to reduce the likelihood of a night-time panic attack.

Limit the stress in your life as much as possible. Yes, I know it’s easier said than done, but you can at least try.

Go to bed earlier. That way, if you still wake up in the night because of an attack, you have more time to fall back asleep and are more likely to catch more hours of sleep.

Limit sugar and caffeine intake at least 4-5 hours before bedtime. In fact, if you can give them up altogether, that would be even better.

Try to have a more organised life. If everything is chaotic and all you do is run from one emergency to another, it causes stress and keeps you tense, which is conducive to anxiety and panic attacks.

But these changes may not be enough to get rid of panic attacks altogether.

Panic attacks don’t happen because you drank too much coffee or just quit smoking. The causes are in the unconscious and only through exploration can they be detected and resolved.

And this is done through psychotherapy.