Children and Night Terrors and My Exprience Observing Terror at Night

Helping Children Who Scream in Their Sleep

Jun 8, 2009 Deanna Lynn Sletten

Night Terrors cause Children to Cry at Night - RotorHead

Children who experience night terrors scream or cry out at night without actually being awake. Researchers have some ideas why this occurs and how to help children.

Night terrors are when a child begins screaming or crying at night but cannot be calmed down because he's actually not awake. It is estimated that 5 percent of children experience night terrors between the ages of 2 to 6. Night terrors are different from nightmares because in the morning the child has no recollection that anything has happened. Unfortunately, parents remember it all too vividly.

Behavior During Night Terrors

Researchers believe that night terrors happen when the child’s brain is stuck between deep and light sleep levels. The child may open his eyes for a moment and see something that scares him but is still in deep sleep. He cries or screams but does not wake himself up. Eventually the sleep level changes and the child calms down and falls back into a deep sleep. Since there is no memory of the fright, the child doesn’t experience any harm from the incident.

For parents, however, it is a completely different experience. A parent will rush in to see why the child is screaming and can’t calm him down. A child can be sitting up with his eyes open but is still sound asleep. He does not respond to anything the parent says or does and eventually calms down on his own. In the morning when the parents ask him why he was so upset, the child has no idea what they are talking about. Not being able to help their child who seems to be in distress is stressful to the parent.

Triggers That May Cause Night Terrors

The bad news is that night terrors cannot be cured, but the good news is that researchers have found there are some things that might trigger them. Parents may be able to help their child avoid having night terrors by being aware of the following triggers:

• Stress in the child's life may be causing the onslaught of night terrors. Have there been any major changes in the child's life such as moving to a new home, a new daycare or changing schools? Maybe there is a child in preschool who is teasing the child or a teacher the child doesn't like. Listen carefully to the child when she talks about her day to see if it can be deciphered if stress may be the underlying factor in her night terrors.
• Illness or medications may be the culprit. Having the flu, a cold, an earache or any other type of illness may trigger night terrors. Medications, like antihistamines, can also be a cause. If medication is the problem, ask the child's doctor if the schedule for the medication can be changed so the child isn't taking it at bedtime.

Two Things Parents Can Do

• Have a consistent bedtime so your child gets enough sleep. Young children feel comforted by a bedtime routine and sleep better if it is kept consistent. Children between the ages of 2 to 6 need plenty of sleep, up to 12 hours, in order to feel at their best. Make sure the child is getting plenty of sleep so he isn't overly tired which can cause anxiety and stress.
• Wake the child before the terrors begin. Night terrors generally happen early in the night as opposed to nightmares which occur closer to the morning. If there is a pattern in time when the child has night terrors, wake him up 15 minutes before it occurs and then let him go back to sleep. This may preempt the brain from getting stuck in-between sleep cycles.

One Thing Parent’s Shouldn’t Do

Don’t wake the child during a night terrors episode. It is better to let the child stay asleep during the night terrors instead of waking him up. Stay by his side and make sure he is safe during the episode but let it end on its own. This way he won’t be scared by being awakened when he is so upset.
Night terrors are difficult for parents, but be comforted in the knowledge that the child will not remember them or be affected by them. Eventually the child will outgrow this phase of his life and both parent and child can get back to having a good night’s sleep.

Reference:
      Sletten, D.L. (2009). Children and Night Terrors: Helping Children Who Scream in Their Sleep.
              Retrieved    October    23,   2010, from
              http://www.suite101.com/content/children-and-night-terrors-a123636

Read on 

• Dealing with Adult Night Terrors
• Dealing With Night Terrors in Toddlers
• Night Terrors

My Experience Observing Terror at Night:

         Few weeks back during the school holidays my cute little cousin came over to stay at my place. Her name is Deanna and she is 6 years old. During the day, we had lot of fun together with my nephew Adriel, 1 years old. It was particularly  a fun day. The weird thing was when  it came to sleeping time. After a long hours of play and fun. Finally, Deanna and I went to bed. She was sleeping beside me. As hours went by suddenly around 3.00 am. I heard her crying and screaming. I woke up and looked at her. She was half awake and sitting down. I tried to wake her up by tapping on her cheek and called her name Deanna Deanna...wake up..The weird thing was she refuse to stop screaming and was repeatedly telling Tiger coming, coming. I wondered. What's going on? I tried to calm her down. By talking to her it''s okay Deanna I"m here.You are safe. When, I tap her on her chest to cool her down. I could feel her heart beating fast. I knew she was afraid and terrorized by the dream but unfortunately my attempt to cool her down failed. After around 10 minutes, she calmed down by herself and went back to sleep.

           In the morning, when she woke up and had a breakfast. At the dinner table, I sat beside her and asked her. Do you remember what happened last night? She told me, yes, we were playing ball with Adriel. Then, I continued by asking,  Deanna What you think about "Tigers". She was like ''Tigers". They are scary. Then, she continued eating her cereal. I asked Deanna, what did you dream last night? She just looked at me and smiled and said nothing. I was shock. How can she forget what happen last night?! So, I assumed it was a nightmare and forgot about it. Surprisingly, it got my attention when, the same incident happened again the following night.

        I knew that, something was wrong. So, I decided to surf on the net and to find out What's going on  with Deanna?  When, I was looking through articles; I could see the connection with what was going on with Deanna. For example, she was half awake and sitting down, it was difficult for me to wake her up.

         After reading, I  understood that Deanna was in a deep sleep during the dream.  I tried using the ways shown in the article that could help me for preventing night terror to occur again. For example, I asked Deanna to take her bath before going to bed. Unfortunately, things were still the same. I also learn that, I should not try to wake her up. I should just stay beside her and not try to calm down. As, she will eventually calm down by herself. I just have to sit there and make sure she is fine. She still cried and screamed. So,the next night, again, I told her to take a bath but this time I told her a bed time story from the Bible. We slept at the same time as we did the previous night.Guess what, it helped a bit. That night Deanna slept quiet well compared to the first day with less screaming.

          Therefore, I continued the method for 3 days. She slept quiet well with no trouble .  She just need a fix time to go to bed, a bath and a short bed time story and everything was back to normal. I even told her mummy about it. She told me  Deanna was normal at home without any problem. I guess  the new environment triggered terror at night to happen.