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Night terror is a problem that affects at least 5% of children and the vast majority of people do not even imagine what it is about or strongly believe that it is the same thing as nightmares. Studies report that nighttime terror starts on average from the child ‘s first year of life and usually happens until the age of seven, with most of the cases existing in boys. Most cases occur between three and seven years of age, the cause of which is still unknown.
In nocturnal terror, the child presents moments of panic during sleep, behaving and reacting as if he were in real danger, not only because of the agitation, but because of the physiognomy he presents during the situation. It is normal for the child to scream, cry, struggle and sometimes even get up with their eyes open, but knowing nothing of what is happening, being in total trance and the next day when they wake up they will not remember anything about what happened. Usually nighttime terror is accompanied by high fever , lack of sleep, excessive tiredness, moments of stress and often during family and school conflicts.
What to do during the night terror?
It is natural for parents in the situation to want to call, wake up the child and make them see that no harm is actually occurring, but experts report that there is no use , as the child will return to sleep normally in minutes and will not know anything that has happened. Ideally, parents should stay close to avoid accidents as the child can act aggressively or struggle a lot.
Can you avoid night terror?
Yes, the ideal is that the child is as rested as possible. Delayed sleep can trigger nighttime terror, so ideally, your child should take naps in the afternoon to be more relaxed in the evening. Another way to calm the child before going to sleep at night is to use chamomile teas, a good story of fairy tales and make the child fall asleep as calmly as possible.
What is the difference between night terror and nightmare?
Nightmares occur during sleep, but upon waking the child is aware of what he dreamed and his fear comes to the surface upon awakening. Many are afraid to fall asleep again because of nightmares. Night terror occurs during sleep like nightmares, but the child has no awareness of his actions and dreams upon waking . Studies report that night terror can be genetic, being inherited from parents who probably suffered from the same problem or from sleepwalking in childhood. When difficulties and losses in the child’s daily development are noticed, it is advisable to follow up with a specialist.
See also: Your baby’s naps- 6 Important Things Every Mother Should Know
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
