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Re: Night Terrors

Posted by Omaha on July 23, 2000 at 23:04:58:

In Reply to: Night Terrors posted by Wendy on July 20, 2000 at 06:31:28:

It definetely sounds like your daughter might have a sleep disorder. Night terrors a few times a month, from my understanding, is not too uncommon, though they can be usually linked to such things as bad "sleep hygiene" as it's called (lack of consistent bedtime, bedtime ritual, no or few naps during the day, etc.) or emotional problems (separation anxiety, recent large changes in life such as a move, etc.) But having them every night, even several times a night, points to something more serious. And that you had such serious sleepwalking and nightmares yourself that you had a sleep study done might point to a possible genetic link as well.
Night terrors can be a trying thing. My 3 year old stepdaughter has them, and we're currently trying to track down what might be the cause. There are a number of good articles on night terrors that will give more information (such as http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/sleep.htm,) but ultimately I think you should contact your daughter's pediatrician and have a chat very soon.
I would recommend you take a look at all of her sleep patterns. Does she sleep walk, sleep talk, snore, have other difficulty breathing, seem to stop breathing for moments at a time (occasionally or a lot,) be sleepy during the day? Any of these, or a combination, could point to possible sleep disorders, especially sleep apnea. Also, keep a sleep journal for her of when she naps during the day and sleeps at night, for how long, and what happened during them. Jot all of it down so you can tell the pediatrician what does and doesn't happen during her sleep cycles.
Sleep terrors themselves, if not indicative of a sleep disorder, can go away by themselves. From what I've read the best thing is to simply make sure that the child doesn't hurt themselves (but DON'T hold them down...like a seizure, this does more harm than good,) keep doors and windows locked so they don't hurt themselves should they go running around during an episode, and normally they will fall right back asleep and not even remember the event. And no, you are not encouraging night terrors by going into the room and comfort the. But, again, talk to a pediatrician for more info.
By the way, in case you didn't know (and for those who don't) nightmares and night terrors are two different things. With nightmares, the child (or adult) remembers the event, and many times will wake up unhappy or frightened because of it. With night terrors, the child will not remember the event, and even though s/he will seem to be awake, s/he is actually not (unless awakened by the parent.) Good luck.

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