You’ve just put your child to bed an hour ago, and suddenly you hear screaming and thrashing from their room. As you rush in to comfort them, their eyes are wide open yet they seem hard to be woken up from, they don’t seem to recognise you, and they are in such a confused state they aren’t responding to your efforts.
Night terrors can be distressing for parents to watch💔 but the good news is that the child usually has absolutely no recollection of it the next morning. What’s also reassuring to parents, is that children often grow out of it naturally without medical intervention.
Distinctly different from nightmares, night terrors typically happen in the earlier part of the night (before midnight), during the deepest stage of non REM sleep.
Possible triggers that can increase the likelihood of occurrence include:
🌙Underlying medical sleep disorders such as OSA
🌙Overtiredness from overpacked day schedule
🌙Changes or interruptions to sleep schedule
🌙Sleep deprivation
🌙Fever or inflammation in the body
🌙Stress and anxiety
SO WHAT CAN PARENTS DO?
Your primary focus is on safety, to minimise possibilities of injuries or falls. Ensure your child’s sleep environment is free of any sharp or trip hazards. Add guardrails if there are stairs in the house.Â
WHILE IT’S HAPPENING:
DO stay calm, and stay quietly close to your child to keep them safe.
Stick to gentle soothing in the dark, and simply wait it out with patience until they go back to sleep (which usually happens within 10-15 mins).
DON’T try to wake them up, as they will likely be upset and confused when being woken, and can take much longer to settle back to sleep.Â
MANAGEMENT OF NIGHT TERROR:
🌟 Establish more regularity in your child’s sleep/wake schedule and ensure their age-appropriate sleep needs are met.Â
🌟 Review your child’s activity schedule to give them ample downtime throughout the day.
🌟 Watch out for any other symptoms such as mouth breathing, and be more diligent in noticing and managing stress / anxiety in your child.
🌟 If this has happened more than a couple times in your household, we can book an assessment to uncover the specifics of your child’s case and come up with a holistic action plan for overall sleep improvements.
🌟 If night terror happens frequently enough and you find your child in dangerous conditions, certainly talk to your paediatrician.Â
Hi I’m Lydia, certified adult and pediatric sleep therapist, and trained specialist in CBT-i. Follow me on IG @thesleepcode.hk for more sleep resources, and if you have specific questions about your baby, feel free to contact me at the-sleep-code.com/contact.
