Night Terrors

Sharing is caring!

Before Nick was born I had never heard of night terrors.  If you had asked me about them I probably just would have thought you were just using another term for a nightmare.  The topic of night terrors has come up periodically in my mom group, and I did pay attention to what others were saying about them, but I didn’t pay a ton of attention.  All of that changed last week when Nick had one.

Nick’s Story

Last Wednesday was an off day for Nick.  He had fallen asleep for a few minutes on our walk, so he didn’t want to go down for an afternoon nap.  He probably would have taken a good late one, but I had to go to the doctor’s office, and he was coming with me, so the only nap he got was about 50 minutes in the car.  Still he was pretty happy and he had a very good time at Nana’s (we went there after the doctors).  We got home around 9:00.  I put Nick right to bed, and not surprisingly he didn’t play for a long time that night.

Around 10:30 I was about to go check on Nick before I went to bed.  I happened to glance at the monitor just before going upstairs and I saw Nick was starting to move.  Then the whimpering started, so I ran upstairs.  Nick’s a really good sleeper, so if he wakes up during the night than something is wrong.  When I got to his bed I couldn’t find his binkie, so I piked him up while I looked for it.  He was so upset.  Once I had found binkie I tried to give it to him, but it was no help.  I tried patting him, and walking him, and then Jason tried.  Still nothing would calm him.

I decided to take him out to the sun porch.  Sometimes that can calm him since it’s like being outside.  As I carried him down the stairs he kept crying “mommy,” and I kept telling him I was there, but it was as if he was oblivious to me.  The sun porch was no help.  Nick was actually getting more upset.  He kept trying to wiggle out of my arms, but if I laid him on the floor he just thrashed around.  Jason and I were both feeling helpless.  Nick was crying so hard that he was having a hard time taking good breaths in.

As a last resort I decided to see if he would focus on one of his shows.  First I held him in the glider, but he kept thrashing around and I was afraid he’d hit his head on the wooden arms.  Then I laid him on the floor in front of the T.V. just as Jason got Little Einsteins going, and that finally calmed him.  For the next ten minutes I laid right behind him with my top arm hugging him.  At one point binkie fell out and he almost lost it again, but luckily I was able to put it back in his mouth fast enough to prevent it.  After about ten minutes or so he finally was back to himself.  The cat walked by and Nick decided to get up and chase him.  When Little Einsteins was all done I put Nick back in his crib and before long he was asleep again although it didn’t turn out to be a great night of sleep.

What Are Night Terrors?

The first thing to note is that night terrors are different from nightmares.  Nightmares happen during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.  This is the sleep stage where you dream.  Night terrors on the other hand occur during non-REM sleep when the brain transitions from one sleep stage to the next.  A child will most likely have a night terror one to four hours after falling asleep.  Usually the brain transitions easily from one sleep stage to the next, but sometimes it isn’t a smooth process and it gives a child a fear reaction.  From what I read it usually occurs in children that are around pre-school age and can continue into elementary school, but it’s possible for younger children to experience it as well.

When a night terror occurs the child often sits up in bed and screams in terror.  They often breath fast, their heart often beats fast, and they can get hot and sweaty.  They often appear to be awake, but actually aren’t.  It’s also common for them the thrash around like a person having a seizure.

Night terrors are in many ways more terrifying for the parents than the child.  The child is not usually awake, and studies have shown that in the morning they won’t remember the night terror at all.  It can be hard on the parent to see their child so upset though, and unlike nightmares a child having a night terror cannot be comforted.  I know Jason and I both felt helpless when nothing worked to calm Nick.

What Causes Night Terrors?

Night terrors occur when the central nervous system is over-aroused.  This can be caused by the child being overtired or ill.  It can also be caused by changes such as new medications or sleeping in a new environment.  Not a lot of children have night terrors, but it has been found that they are more common among boys and there is an increased chance of them if there is a family history of sleep walking.

  How To Handle A Night Terror

The important thing to remember during a night terror is that, like with a sleep walker, you don’t want to wake your child up.  Waking can cause them to be very disoriented and it will take them much longer to calm down.  This was our big mistake with Nick’s night terror, but I didn’t realize that he was having one until it was too late.  The best thing to do is to make sure they don’t hurt themselves thrashing around.  You can also comfort him in ways that won’t wake him up and help settle him back to sleep once he calms down.  If you leave your child alone he will settle back to sleep on his own, but with as hysterical as Nick got I don’t think I would have been able to leave him to his own devices even if I did know he wouldn’t remember it the next day.

There really isn’t any way to stop night terrors.  Since being overtired is a big culprit though (this was Nick’s problem) it is important to stick to a bedtime routine and to make sure that your little one gets enough rest.  If night terrors are a frequent problem for your little one then it would be a good idea to discuss the problem with your child’s doctor.  Most children don’t have a lot of night terror episodes though.

Does/did your child have night terrors?

Information sources: KidsHealth.org, About.com Health Pediatrics