Dear Doctor,

I get hallucinations every night during sleep, could I be in danger of a mental problem?

Mariam

Dear Mariam,

How long have you been getting hallucinations during night; is it daily or once in a while?

Hallucinations during sleep are fairly common and affect about 25 per cent of people, while 10 per cent of people experience it some time. Teens and young adults are mostly affected by sleep hallucinations and frequency decrease with aging. Women are more affected than men.

They occur in the stage between wakefulness and sleep and are often confused with dreams. One kind of hallucinations occur just before falling asleep (hypnogogic). This may be accompanied by sleep paralysis - a person is immobile.

Another type (hypnopompic) occurs just while waking up. This may be associated with difficulty in breathing, muscle tightness and also paralysis at times. One starts experiencing fear after getting these hallucinations, because of the abnormal, sometimes frightening images seen.

Sleep hallucinations mostly occur due to use of alcohol, abusive drugs or mental stress and anxiety. They are different from hallucinations experienced as part of psychosis and usually do not need treatment. One can avoid alcohol and drugs before sleeping. Also, it is advisable to be relaxed totally while going to bed. One may stay up till exhausted to get a deep sleep immediately and avoid getting these hallucinations. Reading some good literature before getting deep sleep is also beneficial as it helps to calm the mind.

Hallucinations in sleep don’t indicate a mental problem. It is simply a very active or anxious mind. However if the sleep is disturbed and one feels fatigued during day time or if the hallucinations are associated with narcolepsy(tendency to sleep unavoidably during day time), it is advisable to consult a specialist doctor.

Dr Rachna Pande  is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital