Panic attacks don’t just happen during the day. Your sleep isn’t immune to panic attacks, and you might find yourself woken up by a pounding heart or sudden jolt.

Sleep panic attacks can be some of the most scary and feared of all panic attacks. That’s especially true because those attacks come without warning and eventually can affect your health.

It’s true that panic attacks aren’t really a condition. They are really symptoms of built-up stress and anxiety that hasn’t been properly dealt with. When you go through major life changes, stress and anxiety can build up. You might not even know what the source of that stress is, and maybe you haven’t even experienced a daytime panic attack.

That built up stress can really start to effect you when you go to sleep though. You can think of a panic attack as a release valve that lets stress free but leaves you feeling like your heart or breathing is having problems. That’s even more disconcerting when it wakes you up from a sleep.

Those panic attack episodes aren’t actually physical problems, but they can become physical problems over time. It’s easy to become scared of more panic attacks once they start waking you up in the middle of the night. You can start to think you have a serious medical condition.

That fear and worry can lead to keeping you awake at night, or other sleep disorders. That insomnia can lead to real health problems, like weight gain, sore muscles, headaches, and an inability to be productive during the day.

The root physical mechanism that causes panic attacks while sleeping is unknown. What is known is that you have to relieve the stress or learn to control the panic attacks to ultimately find relief from them.

Information, treatments and resources are available (both professional and at-home treatments) that can help you rid yourself of anxiety and panic disorder. Some of those treatments and techniques can also help cure sleep panic disorder as well. Medical attention and medication is also available for the most severe of cases. Just keep in mind that medication should be used temporarily until you can find the actual source of stress in your life.

However you find relief, keep in mind that stress is the ultimate cause. To completely free yourself from panic attacks for good, you will have to relieve that source of stress in your life. After you do that, you’ll finally sleep soundly without being afraid of another episode.