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Sleep panic attacks are more common than many people think. I don't want to start out with a lot of confusing statistics, but sometimes I think it can be helpful to keep things in perspective.

Surveys indicate that at any given time between 1% and 5% of the adult population may be having difficulty with anxiety and panic disorders. Some experts indicate that over the course of a lifetime, up to 25% of people may have significant difficulty with an anxiety problem at some time.

Fully half of people who suffer from full-blown panic attacks will have one at night. However, even those who have anxiety attacks at night will experience most of their difficulties during the day. Only about 10% of their attacks will occur at night.

All that is to indicate that nighttime panic episodes are by no means rare and having one does not mean a person is "weird" or out of the ordinary.

In many ways, it makes sense that people are vulnerable to anxiety attacks at night. After all, many things seem more sinister after dark. For example there are a lot of streets that people don't think twice about walking down during the day but stay away from at night.

What's less clear is is what triggers and anxiety episode while someone is sound asleep. What we do know is that, despite many people's beliefs to the contrary, the night time attacks are not triggered by nightmares. Sleep researchers have established that dreams and nightmares occur during REM phase sleep. Sleep panic attacks tend to occur much earlier in the sleep cycle.

So we know one thing that is not the cause, but still don't know what the actual cause is.

But actually, much the same could be said about daytime panic attacks. They may seem to have a trigger, an external cause, but the reality is that the triggers are rarely substantial. It's not going to the mall or giving a presentation that triggers a panic attack, it's the way the person processes those concepts.

Even without knowing the cause, it is possible to effectively treat sleep panic attacks. The overall treatment program is essentially the same as for any other panic attack. With regard to medications, sedatives may be used for a very short period of time. Antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may be used for longer.

Psychological therapies such as cognitive restructuring are the mainstay of eliminating the underlying cause.

In addition to these measures, people with anxiety problems at night can make some common changes to practice good sleep habits. These include avoiding caffeinated beverages and other stimulants late in the day, avoiding watching distressing movies, news reports or TV shows, listening to soothing music, taking a relaxing bath before retiring.

It also helps to keep in mind that almost everyone is successful in overcoming panic problems.

A good program to help you achieve this goal is caused Panic Puzzle. You can read a review of this remarkably effective program at: