You are doing everything to keep your child safe from all things harmful in this world, but when it comes to his/her dreams, you’re helpless. And as a mother or father, it’s really painful to see our children waking up from a nightmare, crying. But even more scary are night terrors in kids. No, it’s not the same as nightmares. If your child experiences a nightmare, he may probably wake up crying, and you can easily comfort him and make him to go back to sleep again. But it’s not that simple in night terror, which can hit your child with much more intensity than a nightmare. Seeing your child experiencing night terrors could be terrifying for you too.
Signs that your child is having night terror
Also known as sleep terrors, night terrors usually happen about 2 or 3 hours after a child falls asleep, i.e. during the deepest stages of sleep. Usually children ages 3 to 12 experience night terrors that may be accompanied by episodes of intense screaming, crying, thrashing, or fear during sleep.
If you child is experiencing a night terror episode, he may also have fast heart rate, fast breathing, sweating, dilated pupils. Sometimes, children with night terrors might sit up in bed, look confused and but not talk. This may last only a few minutes, but it may take up to 30 minutes for them to go back to sleep. Don’t worry, night terrors aren’t dangerous, and your child won’t even remember it later. But recurrent episodes can disrupt both the child’ and parents’ sleep.
Now, you might be curious to know the reason behind night terrors. Genetics play a large role in night terrors. So, there’s a possibility that your child might have inherited it from a family member. Other triggers for night terrors include stress, anxiety, fever, a change in routine, too much caffeine, lack of sleep, and medications that affect the central nervous system (the brain).
How to treat your child’s night terrors
There’s no treatment for night terrors, but they might stop as your child gets older. When your child experiences a night terror episode, you won’t be able to comfort them out of it. Though it will be painful for you see them in that scary situation, don’t try to wake them from it. It can make them even more confused, and difficult for them go back to sleep. So, just let them ride it out. Experts say you can gently hug them and guide them back to sleep.
Also, make sure they don’t hurt themselves by thrashing around or hitting on something in their room. If your child is having frequent night terrors, there are things you can do to help them, such as
- Wake your child a few minutes before the expected night terror. For at least 5 minutes keep them awake and out of the bed. Do this for a week.
- Remove all things that might disturb their sleep, like electronic screens or noises, from their room.
- Make sure they don’t get too tired or stay up too late.
- Help your child manage stress.
- Let your child follow the same wake-up time every day.