waking up at night with hallucinations

[rh07]

Hello! Hopefully you can help me. My husband has been waking up at night hallucinating. We've been married for over five years and this has been an issue from the start. He says he's had this problem since he was a child. He only does this at night not when he naps and  he has no other symptoms or problems. I'm about to go crazy because this effects my sleep as well as you can imagine. It's hard for me to reason with him at night when he's seeing something because to him it's as real as anything else HELP please! I know this is not normal.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hi.

Can you describe that hallucination part in detail..... ? ( how does it start, how long it continues, what does he see, does he talk to you, are the lights on, etc.)

Generally sleep hallucinations occur at the time of falling asleep  and just before awakening. But they are a normal phenomena.

Regards

DrAbhijeetMD

[noops01]

Hi,
Is your husband suffering from sleep deprivation or depression of some kind? You can make him try a sleep aid at night and see if that helps. If the problem persists please consult a sleep specialist.

[DrBhumikaMD]

Hi,
These sleep hallucinations are also called parasomnias. You need to see that your husband avoids alcohol, smoking. He should also not take caffeine products 3-4 hours before he sleeps. Some antianxiety medication like alprazolam should help him. He should try n listen to soft music, take a warm shower or read a book before sleeping to calm himself. If the hallucinations still persist despite the above measures, he needs to consult a sleep specialist. A sleep study might be done and certain medications prescribed depending on the results. Goodluck.