Demystifying those Mid-Sleep Panic Attacks that Plague Some Children
It’s been four years ago now; but Carol Tyler remembers her daughter Lauren’s first night terror like it was yesterday. “My husband and I woke around midnight to Lauren screaming. We rushed into her bedroom to find her thrashing around, kicking, shrieking, and moaning. And she was drenched in sweat. We tried everything to calm her down, but she didn’t seem to hear us and was looking right past us. Her eyes were open but she was clearly not awake. After a few minutes, Lauren calmed down on her own, turned over, and went right back to sleep. We stood there staring at her, shocked, wondering what on Earth had just taken place. She didn’t make a peep the rest of the night.”
Between ages three and five, Lauren went on to have episodes like this about once a week. She’s one of thousands of children who suffer from night terrors, a periodic sleep disorder aptly named because it seems that the child is terrified and panicking, even fighting an invisible foe. The name rings true for parents who witness them as well.
Not to be Confused with Nightmares
According to Dr. William Kohler, a sleep institute medical director, night terrors are quite different from nightmares. “Night terrors typically occur during the first third of the sleep cycle during the non-REM (rapid eye movement) phase. For the most part, the child has no memory of them next day. Nightmares usually happen much later, while the body is in the REM sleep phase and can often be recalled after waking.”
While nightmares cause very little physical reaction, night terrors are characterized by violent, often catatonic behavior, usually within a couple of hours after falling asleep. Dad Kevin Brown describes his two-year-old son Ryan’s night terrors as quite distressing. “Ryan will walk around the room, screaming, oblivious to our presence. He falls to the floor, thrashing, almost like he’s possessed. If we pick him up in an attempt to comfort him, he stiffens and pushes away. As quickly as the episode starts, it’s over. He just seems to ‘come to,’ settles down and falls back asleep. The worst part is seeing your child beyond upset and knowing there is really nothing you can do to comfort him or make it go away.”
Methods to the Madness
While baffled parents rack their brains to find a reason for these wee hour disturbances, it’s difficult to pinpoint the root cause. Their child seems perfectly normal and happy during the day, drifts off peacefully at bedtime. Suddenly, an hour or two later, they’re acting out their own personal horror film before an audience of shocked and helpless parents. What could possibly set off these violent incidents?
Dr. Kohler explains that most night terrors are caused by a disruption in the sleep cycle when the body has difficulty transitioning from one phase of sleep to the next. Something that might ordinarily cause a child to simply wake up will trigger a night terror instead. “It could be that he’s over-tired from not getting enough rest. He could have an illness or fever brewing in his system or his body could be reacting to a new medication. Also going to bed with a full bladder or sleeping in a different or noisy environment can be a factor.”
It’s in the Genes
Parents who suffered from night terrors as children will potentially have kids who are prone to them. A recent Canadian study that examined identical and fraternal twins found that among identical sets, there was a 68 percent chance that both twins would have the condition. Among fraternal twins, that likelihood dropped to 24 percent. The researchers concluded that heredity could be responsible for more than 40 percent of night terror cases.
The Stress Factor
Jennifer Shu, a pediatrician and author of Baby and Child Health, says that stress can play a role in the occurrence of night terrors as well. “Every kid has some stress in their lives, even the happiest children. If they’re starting school, moving to a new place, even if another child takes their toy away, it causes stress. If a child is thinking about something like this at bedtime, it may show up later in the form of a night terror.”
