Sleep Hallucinations

[Rafferty]

Hey there,
My boyfriend suffers terribly from sleep hallucinations. He wakes up most nights screaming with fear at something he can see in the room. Most often he sees snakes in the bed and on the floor, flies all over the room and rarely he sees people in the room. He's been suffering the hallucinations since he was about twelve years old. I was wondering whether anyone could tell me anything about the hallucinations. What causes them? Anything he can do to stop them?
Any information anyone can give would be great!
Thanks

[Toureman]

Sort of question that should be in "body & Soul category

[terambulan]

Is he on medication/drink/drugs which cause his problem? Does he have same when he sleeps during the day?

[Ethel]

It is proper called night terrors, or sleep terrors. Becoming more common in adults as a form of psychosis from smoking strong marijuana, but there are many other reasons for it

http://www.sleepeducation.com/Disorder.aspx?id =13

[-gem-]

Does he/did he ever take anti malarial medication eg Mefloquine (Lariam TM)? Common cause.
I did, and used to get them a lot.
The most common proximal precipitator of them was a sudden adjustment in time of turning in, eg say it was 2 am every morning and then suddenly I started to go to bed at 11pm, it would happen. It is extremely unpleasant.
So I go to bed at the same time now. Also, the room is dark. Like no lights whatsoever, not even a PC monitor light.
There are probably counteractive drugs available from GP.
Maybe try sleeping in a different room (him).
Maybe try watching tv in the room before going to sleep, that way he's distracted and doesnt drift off thinking about the hallucination that will wake him (thus inviting it).
Hope this helps. I didnt get it anything like as bad as you describe, but even what I had was v v v sht. I hated going to bed really.

[micahthompso]

I get exactly that. It's called sleep paralysis where hallucinations and feelings of panic last from between a few seconds and a few minutes - it can also be auditory. It is usually down to irregular sleeping patterns.