Around half of all people who suffer from panic disorder will experience a nocturnal panic attack. While panic attacks during the day are far more common, nocturnal attacks may have even more severe consequences.

Panic attacks occur when a person can no longer control his normal response to stress. Often a stressful life event such as new responsibilities or radical changes will be the trigger of the panic disorder. Those who suffer from panic attacks will sometimes suffer from self doubt and become obsessed with failure. They are often obsessed with the threat of failure. These constant fears can lead to panic attacks. Sometimes though no clear cause can be found.

For many people suffering from panic attacks the night makes things much worse. One of the reasons why this may happen is because the person also has sleep apnea, a disorder which causes the heart rate to go up, increasing the blood flow. This in turn may lead to anxiety which can trigger a panic attack.

A way to reduce nocturnal panic attacks may be to change your diet. You should be especially careful with your final meal of the day. A healthy diet will help you relax and sleep, reducing the risk of having a panic attack. People who suffer from panic disorder should eliminate all forms of caffeine, alcohol and sugar from their diet.

Nocturnal panic attacks can severely affect a person’s quality of life. However they can be successfully reduced. All it takes is determination and the will to take action.

For more information on how to cure panic attacks visit About Panic Attacks at http://aboutpanicattacks.blogspot.com/

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Millions of people all over the world suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. Many factors contribute to these attacks. Diet, disease, lack of exercise, drug and alcohol abuse and medications can all lead to panic attacks. Sometimes, anxiety attacks are inherited or developed because of the environment in which you were raised.

Panic attacks can strike in a variety of ways. For some people it happens when they engage in a particular activity such as flying or driving in an unfamiliar city. For others the attacks can happen late at night (nocturnal panic attacks) or seemingly at random.

There are a few effective ways to deal with an attack when it happens. These methods can provide temporary relief or at least help you “ride it out”.

1. Breathing Exercises

Breathe slowly through the nose and exhale slowly through the mouth. Use both the diaphragm and abdomen. Don’t breathe too quickly as this could trigger hyperventilation and actually make the panic attack worse.

2. Repeating Affirmations

Choose a rational statement like “No one has ever died from a panic attack” or “This will pass and I will be fine” and repeat it to yourself over and over slowly. This repetition can have a meditative effect.

3. Acceptance

If your familiar with Zen meditation, you may already know how to do this. This simply involves understanding what the attack is. Accepting that it is a part of you and letting it pass rather than fighting it.

4. Talking

Talking to your husband, wife or another supportive person can help focus your mind on the other person instead of the attack. If nothing else, it will be comforting to have another person with you until the attack passes.

5. Medication

When all else fails, drugs can be prescribed to treat panic attacks. These are usually SSRIs (antidepressants) and possibly benzodiazepines, a powerful psychoactive. Unfortunately, both of these drugs have substantial side effects and may not work for everyone.

A Long Term Approach to Dealing with Panic Attacks

All of the methods above can provide temporary relief from panic attacks can help you cope, but there is a better option than simply coping. Practical and effective drug-free self-treatments are available that can help you get your anxiety attacks under control and permanently reduce their frequency and severity.

Visit our website to learn more about safe, natural ways to stop panic attacks and general anxiety.

Steven K. Goodwin is a health and fitness writer for Health-Summit – an online magazine for physical health and mental well-being.

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When Liz (not her real name) had her first severe panic attack, like many first-time sufferers, she called 911 because she was convinced she was having a heart attack. Liz isn’t alone. Many who experience anxiety attacks find themselves in the emergency room or calling paramedics because the sensations of a panic attack are that powerful.

Doctors may tell you “it’s all in your head”, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way.

Lives on Hold

Panic attacks can literally suspend lives. Vacations and holidays can be become things to fear. Nocturnal panic attacks can mean many nights of lost sleep. The attacks can raise barriers between you and your family and friends.

Your career can suffer too. Panic at giving presentations or engaging with others can hold you back in your job or your business. The constant distraction of anxiety can keep you off your game and your productivity.

What Causes Panic Attacks?

Many factors contribute to panic attacks. Poor diet and health. Lack of exercise, drug and alcohol abuse and medications can all lead to panic attacks. Sometimes, though, your anxiety attacks are inherited or developed because of the environment in which you were raised.

How to Control a Panic Attack When it Happens

There are many ways to try to deal with a panic attack when it happens. These techniques can provide temporary relief or at least help you “ride it out”.

Breathing exercises – breathing slowly through the nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth using both the diaphragm and abdomen. Be careful not to breathe too quickly as this could trigger hyperventilation and actually make the panic attack worse.

Mantras and affirmations – repeat to yourself something like “I’m not going to die. It’s just a panic attack“.

Acceptance – this involves simply accepting the fact the panic attack is going to happen and that fighting it will simply make it worse or make it last longer.

Talking to someone – having someone to talk to while you’re experiencing and an attack can help distract your mind from the panic or at least provide comfort until it passes.

Dealing With Panic Attacks Permanently

None of these temporary coping methods will prevent panic attacks from happening in the first place, but there are proven techniques that can help you be free of panic attacks and get your life back.

Visit our website to learn more about safe, natural ways to stop panic attacks and general anxiety.

Steven K. Goodwin is a health and fitness writer for Health-Summit – an online magazine for physical health and mental well-being.

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Panic attacks are a sudden onset of intense feelings of dread, fear or entrapment. Episodes can be as short as 15 minutes, but some people experience attacks that last much longer. Anxiety attacks trigger the body’s “fight or flight” mechanisms, including releasing large amounts of hormones such as adrenaline and others into the bloodstream.

Panic Causes More Panic

The combined intensity of emotions and the powerful cocktail of chemicals suddenly released into the body creates a feedback loop where the initial symptoms of the panic attack such as rapid heartbeat and shallow breathing cause even more panic as the person often thinks they are having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown.

Misconceptions About Panic Attacks

There any many myths and misconceptions about panic attacks. These serve only to promote the dismissive attitude that many people express (including some in the medical community) toward panic attack sufferers.

“It’s all in your head” is one of the most common. Certainly, panic disorder is a psychological condition, but to suggest that you can simply will it away is ridiculous.

How Panic Attacks Affect Your Life

Panic attacks can have a profound impact on the quality of a person’s life. Fear of travelling or of having an attack in a crowd of people can make vacations and holidays things to fear. Panic attacks at night (nocturnal panic attacks) can mean many nights of lost sleep. Panic attacks can isolate sufferers from their friends and families.

Panic attacks can hurt your career or your business too. Giving presentations or engaging with others can present particular challenges for panic attack sufferers. Constantly fearing the embarrassment of a panic attack at work or in front of a client can take your mind off your work and reduce your productivity.

How to Cope with Panic Attacks

There are a few ways to try to deal with a panic attack when it happens.

Acceptance – this involves simply accepting the fact the anxiety attacks are something that you have to deal with. You try to attain a frame of mind that allows to you let the attack happen and “roll with it” rather than trying to fight it.

Slow breathing exercises – breathe slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth. Don’t breathe too quickly as this could trigger hyperventilation and actually make the panic attack worse.

Repeating rational statements – repeat to yourself something like “A panic attack is psychological – I will be fine in a few minutes”. This helps focus your mind on something rational while the attack happens.

Talking – this is one of the most effective ways to deal with an attack. Talk to your spouse or another supportive person about what you’re experiencing. This also can help focus your mind on something other than the attack itself.

Coping Isn’t Enough

All of the methods above can help temporarily, but this isn’t enough. Practical and effective drug-free self-treatments are available that can help you get your anxiety attacks under control and reduce their frequency and severity permanently.

Visit our website to learn more about safe, natural ways to stop panic attacks and general anxiety.

Steven K. Goodwin is a health and fitness writer for Health-Summit – an online magazine for physical health and mental well-being.

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Here is a personal story from a long-time sufferer of nocturnal panic attacks:

When I experienced a nocturnal panic attack, it would always come just as I was drifting off to sleep. It was like a buzzer or alarm would go off in my head. I would bolt wide awake with my heart pounding. I couldn’t catch my breath and it felt like someone was pressing down on my chest. Although it had happened many times before, I thought I was going to die every time.

The attacks started when I was a teenager. I told my parents about them and they said it was just a phase and it would pass. Back then, I wasn’t having the attacks very often and so I thought they were right. When I started college, the attacks got worse, though. I chalked it up to a busy course schedule and the pressure of exams and graduating.

By the time I got married and had kids, I was having an attack at least one night a week and usually three or more. It certainly wasn’t a “phase” and it was getting worse. I was always trying to get through the day without enough sleep. I even got to point where I was afraid to go bed. That’s when I started to educate myself and do something about it.

Night-Time Panic Attacks

This woman’s story isn’t unusual for people who suffer from nocturnal panic attacks.

Panic attacks are a form of panic disorder where sufferers experience a sudden onset of intense feelings of fear, dread or of being trapped usually coupled with physical symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, sweating and shallow breathing. Attacks vary in length – they can be as short as 15 minutes, but some people experience attacks that last much longer.

Nocturnal panic attacks occur when the person is sleeping or right before they go to sleep. Sufferers will often wake up with a racing heartbeat or chest pain with no obvious trigger. It is not clear what causes nocturnal panic attacks exactly, though there are number factors believed to contribute such as stress, heredity and drug/alcohol abuse. Most people who suffer from nocturnal panic attacks also experience them during the day, but some experience nocturnal attacks almost exclusively.

Temporary Ways to Deal with a Nocturnal Panic Attack

There are many ways to try to deal with a panic or anxiety attack when it happens. These techniques can provide temporary relief or at least help you “ride it out”.

Talking to someone – having a supportive person to talk to while you’re experiencing a panic attack can help distract your mind from the panic or at least provide comfort until it passes.

Slow breathing exercises – breathing slowly through the nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth using both the diaphragm and abdomen. Be careful not to breathe too quickly as this could trigger hyperventilation and actually make the panic attack worse.

Repeating affirmations – slowly repeat to yourself something like “This is just a panic attack. It will pass and I will be fine”. This can have a calming, meditative effect.

Stopping Nocturnal Panic Attacks for Good

These methods may help you cope with a panic attack, but merely coping is not enough. Practical and effective self-treatment have been developed that can help you get your panic attacks under control, reduce their frequency and severity and eventually eliminate them altogether.

To learn more about safe, natural ways to deal with panic attacks and general anxiety, visit our anxiety resource portal, Health-Summit.com/StopPanicAttacks. We provide information and resources to help panic attack sufferers control their attacks and ultimately end them altogether.

Steven K. Goodwin is a health and fitness writer for Health-Summit – an online magazine for physical health and mental well-being.

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About 6 million Americans experience panic attacks.  Out of those 6 million, about 50% of them have reported to experience panic attacks during the night.  This has confused many sufferers as they would intuitively think that there would be more panic attack triggers during the day time than at night.  In this article, the reasons for the existence of panic attacks at night will be discussed as well as their prevention.

The reasons for panic attacks at night can vary greatly from person to person.  A common trigger for panic attacks is the sense of the loss of control.  Many night panic attack sufferers believe that being in an unconscious sleep state would represent the ultimate lack of control.  They fear the vulnerability of a defenseless unconscious state.  Obviously, these fears are completely irrational but they nevertheless exist in some nocturnal panic attack sufferers. These irrational fears oftentimes lead to panic attacks at night.

Another reason for panic attacks at night is the fear of death while asleep.  Sufferers fear the possibility of a heart attack or stroke during their sleep.  Again, these fears are quite irrational but nonetheless act as triggers for anxiety attacks at night.

Dreams, however, are definitely not a cause of panic attacks at night.  Dreams only occur in heavy REM sleep and studies have shown that those who experience nocturnal panic attacks do not experience them during REM sleep.  Panic attacks at night typically transpire during early sleep phase.  Nightmares, however, are a different story all together.  Some panic attacks at night are caused by nightmares as they occur in the second half of the typical sleep period.  This is why we can remember them.

In fact, there exists a certain type of sleeping disorder called Pavor Nocturnus characterized by waking up and crying, increased heart rate, cold sweats and heart palpitations and other panic attack-like symptoms.  Pavor Nocturnus is most common in children.

I sincerely hope that this article has been helpful in enlightening the reader regarding the causes and reasons for nocturnal panic attacks.

‘Panic Away‘ is a very popular product that helps to treat nocturnal panic attacks. It comes highly recommended by both panic attack sufferers and physicians alike. Here are some customer reviews of ‘Panic Away‘ with a link to ‘Panic Away’s’ homepage: http://digitalproductsdatabase.com/index/index.php/Health/Cures-eBooks/Panic-Away.html

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Nocturnal panic attack can be a really troublesome disorder which is often linked with anxiety. However even without any specific situation that can be considered as source of anxiety one can have nocturnal panic attacks. So there will be situations where a patient may encounter panic attack at night even after you cure anxiety. There are number of ways of combating panic attacks and here are some of the ways of dealing with nocturnal panic attacks. However, what works with one may not work with the other; so if one of the below does not work with you always remember to try another option until you find something that works with you.

1. Get mentally ready for your bedtime with a relaxing routine. In other words, let the mind and body know that it is time to rest for the night. First, as it gets closer to the normal bedtime, avoid foods and drinks that will take longer to digest. Examples of those are; high-fat and high sugar foods; as well as alcohol. Also things like: mild exercise, breathing techniques, aromatherapy, and playing soothing music or white noise seems to help.

2. If you do wake to a panic attack at night you will need to use either self-talk or a relaxation technique or a combination of the two. You need to tell yourself that you are having a nocturnal panic attack; you are home, safe in your bed. You should find something in the room to focus on while beginning to slow your breathing and heart rate. If you find that you are still not relaxed and over the attack again you may need to leave the bed for a while.

3. Medication has also been shown to help patients who have had no success with other methods, or even patients that prefer not to try other treatments for nocturnal panic attacks. In this instance the physician could prescribe from a long list of medication types, such as: antidepressants, Benzodiazepines and MAOIs, just to name a few.

4. Support groups or group therapy may be another cure for panic attacks. Just knowing that “you are not alone” in suffering can be a great relief to many patients.

5. In some cases Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has shown great results in helping patients with panic attacks at night. This is a long-term program that uses many techniques including but not limited to: relaxation, image therapy, methods to manage panic, breathing techniques, and cognitive restructuring.

All things considered, the best approach is to contact a physician and discuss cures for panic attack at night; and of course we all know that making sure that the doctor knows all the facts is always in the best interest of the patient. Do remember the above listed options are just few effective cures for nocturnal panic attacks and there are certainly more ways of dealing with the problem. For more information on eradicating nocturnal panic attacks you can visit our website today.

Cheers!

Our website is dedicated to helping you discover effective ways of eradicating Nocturnal Panic Attacks. Visit us today to discover more effective ways to eradicate nocturnal panic attacks and receive a FREE report titled: “Code Red: Kill Panic! Annihilate Anxiety!! Now!

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Panic attacks can occur for a variety of reasons, but the most common is usually caused by high levels of stress or anxiety. Other times panic attacks may occur if the mind senses imminent danger and is the body’s natural way of protecting itself.

Many times panic attacks will occur when no levels of high stress or cause are apparent and will strike without warning. People that are high strung or have a family history of panic attacks will suffer from panic attacks more than most other people.

One reason why people may suffer from panic attacks at night is if they have a disorder known as sleep apnea. Sleep Apnea is a disorder which can cause the heart rate to go up and therefore increasing the blood flow. These symptoms alone may in turn lead to a high level of anxiety and result in triggering other panic attack symptoms.

By making changes in your diet you can help reduce nocturnal panic attacks. Be careful about eating a full meal late at night before going to sleep as your body has a harder time relaxing because it’s busy using blood to digest food. It’s also a good to eliminate excess amounts of caffeine, alcohol and sugar from your diet if you are a frequent victim of nocturnal panic attacks.

Another way to help reduce nocturnal panic attacks is by exercising. In today’s world a sedentary lifestyle has been increasingly commonplace. It has been proven that at least 30 – 45 minutes of aerobic exercise at least 3 days a week can help people sleep better at night and is a great way to get rid of pent up stress and anxiety in your life.

It’s important to realize that nocturnal panic attacks just like your average panic attack are treatable. With the right attitude and level of determination panic attacks can be stopped from tormenting your life.