What is a night terror?

A few nights ago, we were all tucked warmly into our beds sleeping soundly. That was until I heard cries coming from Dora’s room. I waited a few minutes before going in to check on her because quite often, she’ll stir and then go back to sleep. The cries intensified. I went in to her and sat beside her on the bed and stroked her forehead. She was writhing about like she was in pain, crying more loudly. Worried something was biting her or making her uncomfortable, I pulled back the sheets. This made her scream and kick more furiously. Her eyes were still shut tightly. I began talking to her, trying to rouse her from her sleep. I tried picking her up which led to more kicking and screaming. Panic was starting to set in.

I called to my husband and he suggested I come back to bed. If she didn’t want to be comforted, then she’d probably settle herself and go back to a peaceful sleep. Not so.

Credit: office.microsoft.com

I left her room and the screaming intensified. Unable to leave her in this state, I wet a face cloth and wiped her face thinking it might wake her or get her to open her eyes. Blood curdling screams followed and then uncontrollable sobbing. Tears were streaming from her eyes but they were still tightly shut. It was very difficult to watch. I contemplated calling an ambulance… then she sobbed, “Dad-dy.”

Hubby went to her and I took to google. Having a vague recollection of someone in my mother’s group talking about night terrors, it was my first search.

A night terror is when your child suddenly becomes very agitated while in a state of deep sleep. A night terror can last from a few minutes up to 40 minutes.

Children having night terrors might sit or stand up, shake, move around, and cry or scream loudly. They might look like they’re in extreme panic. A child having a night terror is inconsolable and won’t respond to soothing or comforting.

During a night terror, your child’s eyes might be open. Children having night terrors might be moving and thrashing around, but they’re actually still in a state of deep sleep.

Night terrors can run in families, so there might be a genetic component to whether children will experience them.

Credit: www.raisingchildren.net.au/articles/night_terrors.html

Credit: Fotolia.com

This explanation calmed me down. I could hear that Dora was also calming down in her room. I kept reading and discovered that my tactics of trying to wake her were not what I should have been doing if this was a night terror she was experiencing. The articles I read suggested staying with your child to ensure they don’t hurt themselves.

Some other information I found useful/interesting:

* night terrors can run in families

* the child will have no recollection of the night terror when they wake the next morning

* Night terrors occur during deep sleep and are not nightmares

* Waking a child who is having a night terror could leave them scared and disoriented

* Night terrors are more scary for the parents than the child

* Night terrors occur during the transition from deep REM sleep to light REM (where dreaming occurs)

* They have been observed in children who are over-tired, run down, ill or whose sleeping environment has changed.

* They are quite rare. 3-6% of 4 – 12 years olds have experienced a night terror

I hope that was the first and last time we experience a night terror. It was scary and I felt helpless. Thankfully, she was her happy self the next morning and had no idea what nocturnal activity she’d been up to the previous night.

Has your child experienced a night terror?

If you’re worried about your child’s sleep habits, you should talk to your GP.

Reference: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/sleep/terrors.html

Linking up to #IBOT with Jess:

The post What is a night terror? appeared first on Melting Moments.