Night Terrors and your Preschooler

 Many preschool parents are understandably concerned and worried when their preschooler first experiences a night terror. This disorder can affect those of any age, but children between 3 to 5 years old are especially affected. Symptoms of this disorder are quite distressing and though your preschooler usually won’t remember the episode, parents who witness the symptoms typically overreact to this benign condition. What are night terrors and how can they affect your preschooler?

Night Terrors vs. Nightmares

Nightmares are something that happen to almost everyone sometime during life, and are common occasionally during childhood. They occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and though they may appear similar to night terrors, they are quite different. There are several stages of sleep, according to researchers, and night terrors occur during non-REM sleep. Night terrors typically occur during the first third of the night, one to four hours after going to sleep, while nightmares occur more during early morning hours.

Symptoms of night terrors include sudden awakening from sleep, sweating, screaming, confusion, heart palpitations, difficult to comfort or arouse during an episode, disorientation and little to no recollection following the episode. Night terror episodes tend to last 10 to 20 minutes and those affected can go back to normal sleep following the terror. They may recur and some researchers theorize that they run in families. Nightmares, on the other hand, typically involve frightening images during sleep that can often be recalled. Preschoolers having a nightmare can typically be awakened. Parents who have tried to arouse a preschooler during a night terror episode typically cannot do so. And though trying to awaken a child during a night terror is a natural reaction, it’s best not to do so, but instead to comfort them as best as possible and to keep yourself calm as well.

Night terrors may occur because of emotional distress, tension, fever, or lack of sleep, but there is no definitive cause. This condition can continue throughout life, but typically decreases after age 10. Your best preventive approach for night terrors is to make sure your preschooler is getting enough sleep and reducing any stress that may be affecting your child.

If night terrors are severe and/or disturb sleep patterns continuously, a psychological evaluation may be recommended. Consult your pediatrician about these severe night terrors. Often though, night terrors are benign and affect parents more than the preschoolers themselves. Reassurance and support, along with stress minimization are good approaches to this disorder, and so professional evaluation is not usually necessary.

By: Pia Chaparro

References:

National Institutes of Health, US National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000809.htm on 09 February 2008.