Nocturnal terror is a sleep disorder in which the child cries or screams during the night, but without waking up and occurs more often in children aged 3 to 7 years. During an episode of night terror, parents should remain calm, protect the child from possible risks, such as falling out of bed, and wait for the situation to end in about 10 to 20 minutes.
This type of disorder is not the same thing as a nightmare, as it is considered a parasomnia, which is the set of sleep disorders in childhood, due to the behavioral changes that occur in the episodes. Night terror can arise at any stage of sleep, but it is more common to happen in the transition state between sleep and wakefulness.
The causes of night terror are not well defined, but they can be related to health problems, such as fever, excessive physical activity, emotional stress or consumption of exciting foods, such as coffee. This disorder can be diagnosed by a pediatrician or psychiatrist and has no specific treatment, with sleep and stress reduction routines being the best ways to improve nighttime terror.
Symptoms of night terror
The episodes of night terror tend to last an average of 15 minutes and at the time of night terror, the child does not respond to what the parents say, does not react when they are comforted and some children can get up and run. The next day, children usually don't remember what happened. Other symptoms that are indicative of night terror are:
- Agitation; Wide eyes, although not fully awake; Screams; Confused and frightened child; Heart racing; Cold sweat; Rapid breathing; Bed wetting.
When these episodes of night terror are very frequent and last a long time, it is important to consult a pediatrician or psychiatrist to confirm the diagnosis. The doctor may order tests to rule out that the child has other diseases, such as seizures or narcolepsy, which is a sleep disorder in which the person can sleep soundly at any time of the day. Learn more about what narcolepsy is and what the symptoms are.
Possible causes
There is no specific reason for the appearance of night terror and this disorder and most of the time it does not harm the child and does not cause any health problems. The emergence of night terror is also unrelated to spiritualism or religion, it is actually a child's sleep disorder, known as parasomnia.
However, some situations can contribute to worsen episodes of night terror such as fever, excessive physical activity, consumption of foods rich in caffeine, emotional stress and depression.
What to do to relieve
To alleviate children's night terror, parents need to remain calm and must not wake the child, as the child does not know what is happening and may not recognize the parents, becoming more frightened and agitated. Therefore, the most important thing is to keep the environment safe and wait for the child to calm down and fall asleep again.
After the night terror is over, parents can wake the child up, taking him to the bathroom to pee, avoiding talking about what happened because the child does not remember anything. The next day, parents should have a conversation with the child to try to find out if there is something that is making them worried or stressed.
How to prevent episodes
To prevent episodes of night terror it is important to know if there is any situation in the child's life that is causing stress and causing some type of internal conflict, and if this happens it is recommended to seek help from a child psychologist, as this professional can help with therapy and techniques adapted to the child.
In addition, it is important to create a relaxing sleep routine before going to sleep, such as taking a hot shower, reading a story and playing quiet music, as this helps to improve the quality of your child's sleep. Medicines should only be used with medical advice and are generally used only when the child has some other associated emotional disorder.
