What Parents Should Know About Night Terrors

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.”

4 readers liked this story.
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10.24.2010
Kathy Walker
I was fortunate that my children did not suffer from this but a friend's child did. When I spent the night at his home, he warned me of the possibility of being waken by his son's night terror. He told me what to expect and explained that the child was not in pain nor would he remember it the next day. I was so glad he gave me this information because it did happen that night perhaps because the child's routine had been disrupted by my spending the night there. It was indeed horrible to watch. The poor parents could do nothing to calm the boy, he was stiff, wide-eyed and in another age might have been called 'possessed'. I felt very bad for his sister, who had to share her room with him that night since I was using the boy's room. She was only a year older and was not able to understand as much, plus she was mad that her room and sleep had been disturbed like that. The father dealt with the son and the mother comfortered the daughter. It was all over in 5 to 10 minutes. wow
11.19.2009
Autumn4me C
My son is now 16. When he was 5 he started with the night terrors. The first episode that I witnessed I was horrified by what I was witnesing. It looked like he was displaying a terrorizing fear. His eyes were open but He was looking right through us. He would sweat profusley and scream and cry. The next morning he had no recollection .This would occur exactly an hour after his sleep every other night for about a month. I researched and educated myself on this issue. Your column on this issue is so helpful for any parent who's child is suffering.
11.18.2009
Sharon Bender
my daughter had night terrors from age 1 to 11, and it was terrible to watch! She has since outgrown them,but I wish I could have read your article years ago,you hit the nail on the head.
11.18.2009
jennifer shafer
Both of my children had/have night terrors. It seemed to start at 2.5 years of age. My now 5 year old doesn't have them any more but my 3yro does. I look forward to out growing this stage....
It feels good to write.

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