Things That Go Bump in the Night in Your Head

A friend of mine who suffers from night terrors sent me this link.  Night terrors, which I have had as well and now my three-year-old son occasionally suffers from, are often misdiagnosed as bad dreams.  Here is a more concise definition (from the webpage): 

Sudden awakening from sleep, persistent fear or terror that occurs at night, screaming, sweating, confusion, rapid heart rate, inability to explain what happened, usually no recall of "bad dreams" or nightmares, may have a vague sense of frightening images. Many people see spiders, snakes, animals or people in the room, are unable to fully awake, difficult to comfort, with no memory of the event on awakening the next day.

Learn more about night terrors here.