Night Terrors in Children

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I had just began to fall asleep when I heard rustling in the other room. It sounded like my son was rolling over in bed, and I thought nothing of it. Then, he began screaming, as if he were in pain, and begging for help. Terrified, I ran to his room, and turned the corner just in time to see my four year old baby jump out of bed and start running at full speed. His Sponge Bob pajamas had been thrown on the floor, and his body was soaking wet with sweat.

I had just begun to fall asleep when I heard rustling in the other room. It sounded like my son was rolling over in bed, and I thought nothing of it. Then, he began screaming, as if he were in pain, and begging for help. Terrified, I ran to his room, and turned the corner just in time to see my four year old baby jump out of bed and start running at full speed. His Sponge Bob pajamas had been thrown on the floor, and his body was soaking wet with sweat.

I was instantly terrified, and had no idea what was happening to him. I scooped him up in my arms, in an attempt to comfort him. He didn’t acknowledge me. His eyes were open, but it was an empty stare that looked straight through me. He continued screaming and kicking. He was obviously terrified of something I couldn’t see. I tried waking him, but was unsuccessful. My husband came in the room, but was also unable to rouse him from his sleep.

Eventually, we were able to wake him, but we remained shaken by the experience. Our son, however, was fine. Once he woke, he had no recollection of anything happening and couldn’t tell us what he was dreaming. The next day, when we told him what had happened, he laughed and thought it was funny.

My husband and I wrote it off as being a very bad nightmare.

But it happened again. The next night, our son was screaming and running through the house. Just like before, we had difficulty waking him, and when we did, he couldn’t recall anything that had happened.

It became a pattern. At least two or three times a week, he would have a terrifying experience. We didn’t know what it was, or what caused it. We began allowing him to sleep in the room with us, afraid that he may run into a wall during one of his "episodes".

After seeing a doctor, and doing lots of research online, I learned that our son was experiencing night terrors. Much different than a nightmare, a night terror doesn’t occur during the typical REM stage of sleep. Night terrors happen early in the sleep pattern, during a time referred to as the Non-REM stage. This typically occurs within 90 minutes of the child falling asleep, which was almost always when our son would have his outbursts.

During my research I was very surprised to learn that night terrors only effect 1 – 6% of children. They can disturb the sleep of boys or girls of any race. Night terrors can be brought on by stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation, certain medications, or fever. We were never able to pinpoint the cause of the night terrors my son experienced.

How can you tell the difference between a nightmare and a night terror? The best indicator is that it is difficult to wake a child having a night terror. Additionally, look for these symptoms, as listed at WebMd.com:

– Increased heart rate

– Intense crying and fear while sleeping

– Sweating

Night terrors don’t happen just once, they are recurring episodes. As mentioned previously, they typically occur 90 minutes after a child falls asleep. Our physician informed us that our son was having severe night terrors. He wouldn’t just sit idly and cry. He would run, climb, hit, kick, and do whatever he could to try to escape what was happening inside his mind.

We were fortunate that our son simply grew out of his disorder by the time he reached seven years of age. Some children, though, must undergo tests to rule out any additional disorders.

If your child is suffering from night terrors, it’s important that you take steps to protect them from hurting themselves.

– Make sure toys, clothing, and other objects are off the floor of the room the child is sleeping in. (This will prevent tripping and falls during the night terror)

– Be observant of what your child watches on television, or reads in books. (Even the slightest scary image may be replayed during sleep) I always advised my son to fall asleep thinking of a happy memory.

– If you are around your child when the night terror begins, WAKE THEM UP. There were several times when I was able to prevent the night terror, by waking my son up just before it occurred.

– Be sure to speak with your child’s physician about the occurrence of night terrors. In some cases, medication is administered to help with the severity of the episodes.

Richard JaramilloRichard “RJ” Jaramillo, is the Founder of SingleDad.com,
a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children.
RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents
“Make Life Happen…Again!”

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Richard “RJ” Jaramillo, is the Founder of SingleDad.com, a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children. RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents “Make Life Happen…Again!”