Panic Attacks Support Group

Probably because there are more shadows and nights are just generally spookier. That's why I'm worse at night...
I usually have to have all of the lights on and won't sleep until the sun comes up.

check out low blood sugar which may happen due to not eating and causes anxiety like problems

otherwise if it is anxiety, sleep with light and a radio on

Have you been checked for sleep apnea? It is possible that your not taking in enough air while you sleep and that can trigger an attack. Ask your doctor about it.

sleep apnea is another possibility, I have it. there is usually loud snoring and sometimes gaps with no breathing, it helps to tape record yourself when asleep

i get attacks always the time right upon drifting to sleep but this 4 me happens wheather i go to sleep at night or the middle of the afternoon so 4 me seems related to sleep?
and ive wondered if it has to do with that shift in alpha theta omega or whatever , the brainwaves that, occur when we fall asleep?

but yeah thats very interesting supposedly thiers all kinds of differences with our bodys depending on if its day or night because in the past nightime(or darkness)was a signal to our body to sleep and all different metobolic changes exc and now we have artificial light everywhere but its still part of our biology i dont know exactly but maybe something to research further

rbL
I also get attack right upon drifting into sleep and it dose not matter if it is a day or night. I thought it was only me...

Okay, here's the skinny everybody. People who suffer from anxiety attacks, get unwarranted floods of adrenaline at inopportune moments. During the day, we always need some adrenaline to keep us going, so sometimes extra surges of it may go unnoticed (even by sensitives like us) if they are smaller.

However, at night, the adrenaline factory is supposed to be shutting down. Because ours isn't working properly, we still get these sudden spurts of it, and because we are usually in a more quiet environment as we get ready for sleep, we also notice it that much more.

It can be controlled a little better through a more regimented diet (low blood sugar as Harry mentioned) and a good routine. It can also be controlled by medication.

Sleep apnea can also cause sudden wakenings, sure... but I don't think that's quite what Mistykitty was saying. It just happens when night falls... even if she's still up, and watching television or whatever. The thing is, our bodies recognize night fall as a time to start calming down and getting ready for sleep, even if we've already decided to stay up late!

MistyKitty, I'm not 100% sure if you mean that you have a harder time at night in general, or if you meant during your sleep, but either way, I'm right there with you. I had my first panic attack ever in January 2009 and it was around 8-9pm. Then for the next week after that, I would wake up out of my sleep with smaller panic attacks. For the past few months leading up to now, I had my anxiety fairly under control, but it always seemed like at night, after work, when I'm home alone, I got to thinking about the stresses in my life and the things I needed to get done and I would either have small panic attacks or spurts of anxiety. I'm not sure if this is what you're talking about, but hopefully you can relate to some of it. Just keep your head up and know that you're not alone :)

panic can take a backseat while you are busy during the day and as soon as you slow down or even lay down to go to sleep, your mind is not focused on other things, allowing panic to become the focus. This is what used to happen to me. If you have things that you need to do in the morning or the next day, then try to focus on those tasks as you are laying down to sleep. Even if they are not exciting things, think of ways to make them more exciting and just keep thinking about them to take the focus off the panic until you become too tiered to stay awake. eventually this can become a fun bedtime method and night panic may begin to go away! stay creative and positive : )

That's pretty much like me. My husband works nights, and so there really isn't anyone here, except for his friends, and they sleep at night while he's gone.
But, I get very anxious and nervous, have a hard time breathing, then I will get this feeling like I'm moving, yet, I'm standing still. Then I start to panic, and WHAM! Panic attack. By the time I'm calm, I can't sleep, because I have this odd feeling that if I lay down, and close my eyes, that I'll not wake up. So lots of times I'll go 24 hours without sleep.