For a parent or a babysitter, it can be alarming to see a child wake up in the middle of the night, sit “bolt upright” and then scream as if there are snakes monsters or people in the room. An unaware guardian may even go to the extent of being panic stricken and be overwhelmed by a sense of urgency when the child sweats profusely and hyperventilates after that. As much as this instance may seem so foreboding, it is none other than the classic case of what is called
. It is estimated that about 15% of all children suffer from night terrors at some points.
The condition generally affects those aged between 2 to 6 years old and can last up to adolescence in rare cases. As much as the earlier described instance is akin to a nightmare, there are generally some major differences between nightmares and night terrors. Whereas nightmares usually occur in the wee small hours of the morning, night terrors often beset a child during the first four hours of sleeping. It is very typical for night terrors to happen 15 minutes to an hour after a child sleeps. Children are more inclined to suffer from nightmares which occur during the light stages of REM sleep while night terrors often transpire during the deep non-REM or delta sleep.
Nightmares are generally regarded as a bad or scary dream which a child or an adult has from time to time, but night terrors on the other hand is not a dream but an altered sleep state also termed as parasomnia in which most adults are unlikely to be beset with. During
, a child may seem to be awake, sitting upright and giving out blood curdling screams. But in fact, the child is often still fast asleep when the incident takes place. As much as nightmares and night terrors may be causes of significant concern for parents, they are nothing more than by products of a child’s active developing mind.
What parents should remain to be wary about is that when night terrors last longer than 30 minutes and are accompanied by jerky movements and stiffening of the body. Eighteen percent of children who suffer from night terrors also experience sleep walking. Although sleepwalking is usually not a cause for alarm, parents should be cautious about potential accidents that may happen. Night terrors are often a result of a child being overtired, thus it may be sensible to make sure that the child goes to bed and gets up at the same time during the night or day to make them establish a healthy sleep pattern.
It may also be wise to let the child talk about their fears and reassure them during the day as there may be concerns that may be worrying them that can lead to night terrors. If a child is prone to night terrors, it may help to gently wake them up for a moment shortly after they have fallen asleep and then let them go straight back to sleeping. This measure, when done regularly is enough to break the cycle until the child will learn to sleep through the night. When night terrors beset a child, the initial reaction of a parent may be to wake the child out of their fear, but this may only serve to frighten and upset the child more.
It may be better for a parent to put their arms gently but firmly around the child while speaking quietly to them all the time and laying them down until the child settles down. As much as
often leave a parent a nervous wreck, the child almost often peacefully goes back to sleep remembering nothing about the incident.
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