Tuesday 6 November 2012

Nightmares and Night Terrors

As every parent knows, sleep is so important.  Sleep allows children to develop and consolidate memories.  It also helps prevent negative things from occurring such as becoming grumpy, fussy or clumsy.  Although kids usually have uneventful periods of sleep once they fall asleep, it is also common for children to have occasional nightmares.  Nightmares occur when a child is in REM sleep. When a child has a nightmare, it is important to comfort and reassure them so they feel safe.  The best way to prevent nightmares is by practicing good sleep hygiene.  This includes having a consistent and predictable bedtime routine (bath, brush teeth, books and bed) and having a safe and comfortable place for your child to sleep. Children who are fearful before bed because of previous nightmares may benefit from having a nightlight. If your child experiences a number of nightmares, you may need to consider their daily activities.  Perhaps they are watching a television show that is too scary for them. Maybe they are feeling stressed about something at school. Limiting potential stressors and discussing things that scare them may help reduce the number of nightmares.  Also, having children think about positive things before bed may also help reduce nightmares.
Night terrors are different from nightmares.  Unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during non-REM sleep.  When a child has a night terror, he may sit upright in bed and appear scared and panicky.  His breathing and heart rate may increase and the child may scream.  This usually lasts for a couple of minutes, but it feels like hours! Although you may try comforting your child, he probably won’t realize that you’re even there.  However, it is important to keep him safe.  If your child experiences many night terrors, you make want to examine your child’s routine.  Is he getting enough sleep during the day? Is he getting enough fresh air? Does he have a consistent bedtime routine? In addition to examining his routine, you may also try prompted awakenings if night terrors become very frequent.  Prompted awakenings involve monitoring when your child is likely to have a night terror and waking them up before they are most likely to have one.  If your child continues to have frequent night terrors, you may need to consult with your family doctor.
Since I should practice what I preach, I am going to end off with a positive thought.  Although nightmares and night terrors can make bedtime very scary for children, nighttime can also be very peaceful.  I love peaking in and seeing my boys when they are fast asleep.  They look so peaceful and so angelic.  On that note, I am off to bed.  Sweet dreams to you and your babies J
Julie

1 comment:

  1. I have unfortunately experienced night terrors with my toddler, and Julie, you are bang-on when you say that minutes feel like hours. For us, the terrors appeared in bunches (4 nights in a row) on 2 separate occasions.

    The first set occured a couple weeks following the birth of our second child, and the second set immediately followed the craziness of Christmas. On both occasions, my husband and I began to worry that the terrors were becoming a part of our new nightly reality... but thankfully, she retreated back to her sound-sleeping ways after a couple days of solid routine.

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