Sleep Terror DisorderSleep terror disorder is a sleep disorder that can be described as causing This may sound like the description of a nightmare to you, but night terrors are actually quite different from nightmares.
Sleep terrors are usually more intense than nightmares, cause greater anxiety and fear and may involve movement (suddenly sitting up, or flailing arms etc.) The child doesn't 'wake up' from them, is unaware of his surroundings and unresponsive, and in most cases has absolutely no memory of the episode the next day. Generally an episode of night terrors will occur early on in the night, within 90 minutes of falling asleep, and they happen during slow-wave or non-REM sleep phases. Nightmares, on the other hand, occur during REM (dream) sleep. Sleep terror disorder is most often seen in children between the ages of 3 and 12, but it can occur at any age. Boys seem to be more at risk than girls. Research indicates that between 1% and 6% of American children will experience at least one night terror during childhood. What causes Sleep Terrors?In spite of on-going research, the causes of night terrors aren't yet clear. It may be that there are several factors involved, and the 'triggers' can be vary between individuals.Some researchers believe that night terrors are caused by a childs' immature central nervous system, others identify stress, anxiety, illness, sleep deprivation, some medications, diet and more. Like some other sleep disorders, sleep terror disorder seems to have a genetic component and often 'runs in families', and having a family history of night terrors can make it up to 10 times more likely that you will also experience them.
Sleep Terror Disorder SymptomsIf your child has night terrors, he will most likely waken suddenly from deep sleep and be crying or screaming. He may mumble or shout, and act as though he is fighting with someone/something, his eyes will likely be wide open but he is not fully conscious or awake. Sweating and an extremely rapid heartbeat (sometimes up to four times faster than normal!) are also symptoms of sleep terror disorder.It's usually not possible to comfort or console a child who is experiencing a night terror, he isn't awake and isn't aware of your presence. He may fight you off, or push you away. However, some people do respond to being held and reassured, it's a case of trial and error to see if this helps. A night terror most often lasts around 15 minutes, but can be as short as 5 mins or last as long as 30. Generally there is only one episode per night, but they may occur for several nights a week, or occasionally experience several episodes per night. A child who has sleep terror disorder usually doesn't remember a thing about the episode afterwards. In fact most children will go right back into deep sleep as soon as the night terror is over, without ever waking up or being aware of what happened. They are unlikely to remember it in the morning. Needless to say, it can be quite terrifying for a parent to witness their child having a night terror, and they don't forget it too quickly!
Living With Sleep Terror DisorderFor adults with this disorder, your doctor may be willing to prescribe medication to help if the episodes are so severe or frequent that they are significantly affecting the quality of your sleep and consequently your daily life.Some research has been done using sleep-inducing medications/hypnotics such as Diazepam. However, there has been very little research done on using medications to treat children with sleep terrors. As there is no recognized 'cure' for sleep terror disorder in children, most often they and their parents simply have to live with the night terrors. In most cases the episodes will diminish over time and disappear by the time the child enters adolescence. However, some children may never totally outgrow this disorder although they may learn to control it to some degree by recognizing and eliminating their personal 'triggers'. Over time these episodes seem to naturally decrease in frequency and severity too. All a parent can do is to make sure that their child isn't able to hurt themselves during an episode (some children may get out of bed, flail around, or even run away from imaginary terrors), and so removing objects like bedside lamps, or rearranging furniture can help make the bedroom a bit safer. If holding your child seems to help, feel free to do so, but if it makes him more agitated it is probably best not to force any kind of physical contact or restraint onto him, but stay close by to make sure that he doesn't hurt himself, and that he settles back to sleep when the episode is over. Do not try to forcibly awaken someone who is in the grips of a sleep terror disorder episode. Using a baby-monitor or intercom system, to make sure you can hear if your child wakes due to a night terror, can be reassuring for parents.
If your have a child who is suffering from sleep terror disorder that is so severe or persistent that it is negatively affecting his health and development, or is worrying you, I strongly advise you to consult your doctor, or health professional. An office evaluation or a study in a sleep lab could help determine if there are any physical causes for the night terrors (such as night-time seizures). Although sleep terror disorder can be disruptive and scary, the advice above may help to alleviate some of the worry involved, and make sure your child is kept safe. Page/Article Links:
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