2023-05-07 08:09:41
In young children, sleep disorders are frequent, sources of disruption in the daily life of the child and his parents. How do night terrors manifest? How to differentiate them from a nightmare and what are the causes? How to react ? Are there treatments?
If you have ever experienced night terrors in your child, you have surely been very impressed and perhaps worried! Indeed, the child is very restless, screams, sits on his bed, in tears, sweating. If you hug him to try to calm him down and reassure him, he will reject you and scream even more. He seems awake and therefore conscious. A few minutes later, the night terror abruptly stops. The next morning, the child does not remember anything. It is better to avoid talking to him regarding it because you risk scaring him. This disorder usually appears in children between 18 months and 4 years old. It is more rare following 5 years.
During a nightmare, the child reacts if you approach, he sees you. If you talk to him, he answers you. He remembers his nightmares. This is not the case for night terror.
Nightmares usually occur at the end of the night or at the end of a sleep cycle, during REM sleep. Night terrors occur more often at the beginning of the night during deep slow-wave sleep, usually between 1 and 2 hours following falling asleep.
Did you know ?
Insomnia corresponds to difficulty falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings. Hypersomnia, excessive sleep, is rare in children and affects adolescents more. The term parasomnias includes strange or abnormal behaviors during sleep. Night terrors are one of them.
The main causes of night terrors are:
- sleep deficit;
- tiredness ;
- stress or anxiety;
- heredity;
- a change in habits;
- fever ;
- certain medications;
- gastroesophageal reflux.
If you catch your child having a meltdown, let him calm down quietly. He will fall back asleep peacefully within minutes. Don’t wake him up. Just stay close to him to make sure he doesn’t get hurt.
Since night terrors go away on their own, there is no actual treatment. On the other hand, we can act on the causes of night terrors, in particular by ensuring that the rhythm of life and sleep of the child is very regular, by avoiding stress and fatigue, by promoting calm and appeasement. before bedtime.
Although impressive, night terrors are fairly commonplace and not serious. They disappear around 6 or 7 years. If you notice that they are becoming frequent and regular, you should consult a doctor.
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