Night Terrors? - Sparta,MI

My brother had them as a child - they were caused by underlying issues of perceived persecution. He had them for a whole school year, and kept telling my parents his teacher picked on him (due to the crayons he used to melt on the radiator and then throw them in to her white hair - very colorful haha!) They went away as soon as school got out.

My daughter used to have night terrors and I noticed that she had them when she didn't get a nap and was over tired. I read that they are caused from falling asleep too fast because of exhaustion then something like their adrenaline causes it. It usually only happened when she skipped a nap or went to bed very late. I don't think it harms them at all and she didn't remember them. My daughter took naps until she was 5 1/2. She still needs a lot of sleep. She's almost 7 and no longer has them.

What I am going to say might seem off-base but is worth a try. When you go into his room and while he is still half asleep (while he is having these episodes) talk to him and ask him questions. Like why do you wonder if you are allowed to be in here. Some people who believe in past lives believe we will have wierd behaviors (unconscious behaviors) related to however we died in a past life. Sylvia Brown talks about this in her books and has done work with people under hypnosis who are experiencing "night terrors" and other things like phobias. Even if you don't believe in this type of thing talking to him and finding out what is bothering him subconsciously will help you help him deal with what is going on. The fact that he is sweating so bad and undressing in his sleep shows whatever is going on is subconscious.
I hope he starts having a restfull sleep soon. Good luck

Do you remember the terror of waking after a nightmare alone? That would be my answer to the last part of your question.

Regarding night terrors in general, there are a lot of theories about what causes them (and nightmares in general), but that doesn't lend itself very helpfully to what to do to alleviate them.

Nightmares are emotionally-difficult dreams (and night terrors are the same thing, only 1/2 awake and capable of movement throughout, rather than sleep-paralyzed which is normal for dreams of all kinds) that are just a part of the brain re-ordering itself and coping with the issues of the day.

There are two things I found really helped and recommend to others in dealing with night terrors: a change of temperature (open a window, turn on a fan, a cold cloth on the forehead, etc.) and a really, really stupid question. Asking the child something stupid and obvious has a remarkable way of pulling them 'back to reality' very quickly. Things like 'am I your dad? (or for dads, 'mom' <G>)' or 'what colour are your eyes, honey?' seem to work, as do 'is your pillow a rock?' or 'is your bed made out of marshmallow?' Sometimes the question has to be repeated a few times to re-direct their attention, but it works.

The other thing I found helpful, particularly late in the evening when the children are getting ready for bed (apart from ensuring they never watch broadcast news or violent tv or movies or video games -- violent images make a mess of sleep) is talking about what dreams are, and how it is possible to interact with them, be aware of them, and change what's happening in them.

"Make the monster into a blue fluffy bunny" was my eldest daughter's advice to her little sister, years and years ago. It was the plan she'd come up with to deal with a chasing monster in her dreams, years before. I didn't realize she'd remembered it.

Dreams are just imagination, and while we are sleeping we are asleep --not unconscious-- and can have influence and awareness of our dreams, just as we have awareness of our body in space, which keeps us from falling out of bed or rolling onto our bedmates.

It helps to talk about it right before and right after sleep, in that 'nearly groggy' state, because at those times, the unconscious mind is more open to suggestions.

It is a night terror. My daughter had those for years; she still hallucinates like that when she has a fever (she's 11 now).

He is scared and confused but will not remember any of it when he wakes up. Soothing him works to get him to go back to sleep and will help you feel like you're doing something. They generally just have to run their course. I think they peak around ages 4-8 or so and then really taper off.

Just a word of advice - I wouldn't necessarily leave him alone. One night my daughter got up out of bed (she was sleeping with me since she was sick) and said, "We have to leave now," and headed for the front door. That was a little scary, so I tend to sit and wait until she's gone back to sleep.

You'd be surprised at the number of kids who have them. I know I was.

Hi C., There are some great homeopathic remedies for this. There is alot of information online about them one of which is called "bad dream sprinkels" But there could be an underlying medical or emotional cause too. There was also alot online about this.

Ask alot of questions if he is at daycare of has a babysitter, asking " should I be in here " is kind of scary.

I always had good luck with the homeopathic.

M. H

This could be night terrors. My son had them when he was much younger. If I tried to comfort him he would "attack" me. He he would throw his head into the wall and kick, always be crying. He's eyes would be open at times as well. My dr told me not to try and wake him up or comfort him, just make sure that he doesn't hurt himself. Put pillows around him, things like that. Once they calm down it is then okay to comfort them, hope this helps.

H.

Wow, it sure sounds like night terrors to me. My youngest son had them when he was little, and he did outgrow them. He also was a bedwetter, which is another sleep-related disorder. I would do exactly what you're doing. If it happens very frequently (my son's were once a week, at most) you might need to have him undergo a sleep evaluation.

Hi C.,

Does he do the same routine everynight...the same exact thing? I wouldn't leave this alone becuase it could get worse. If it were me I would actually make an appointment with his Pediatrician or Family Physician to let him know what has been going on and for how long. For him to sweat that bad and to be completely out of it is a little concerning. I know it is normal for young children to sleep walk, mine do at times, but it is not the same thing that happens or said everytime.

Not to scare you but I just watched a program where a mother was having a somewhat similar situation with her daughter that just started out of know where. With her she would vomit at night and was completely out of it but appeared to be awake. It was always about 2 hours after sleeping. She began to do the same thing...same exact routine every night so the mother was actually prepared for her to vomit and clean her up with less mess. She tried everything to find out what was going on meanwhile they were getting worse at night and she decided to finally take her to a Specialist (Nuerology) and found out that she was actually having seazures...but they only happened in her sleep.

If it were me I wouldn't just put it off as night terrors. I would log the activity ect.... and go to my doctor. I believe it is always better to be safe than sorry.

I didn't mean to scare you I just wanted to share what came to my mind when I read your concern.

Take care and God bless you and I will keep your family in my prayers. : )

I remember my step-son went through this same thing right around the age of 5. He would sometimes scream or moan, and I could go in there and talk to him. I was told not to wake them up. He never would wake up, but I would just console him. He outgrew this w/in a year or so, and it didn't happen all the time. We tried to be careful on what he watched on TV before he went to bed. We actually had to cut out the Scooby-Doo and that seemed to help. You wouldn't think Scooby-Doo could be scary, but it does have ghosts and goblins!

My son is almost 9, and he has the "Night Terror" episodes. He wakes up screaming. His eyes are usully open, but he doesn't seem to see us or realize where he is. It usually lasts only a couple of minues, and they he lies back down and goes to sleep. I had asked my doctor about them, and I was told that they usually happen when my son is overly tired. I was also told that they are considered night terrors, and not nightmares because my son has absolutly no memory of what happened the next day.
Luckily, my son has not had any episodes in a while. I'm hoping he is outgrowing them!!

I have a daughter who is 6 and has had night terrors for about 3 years. I noticed that if I carry her to the bathroom and sit her on the toilet she will always have to go to the bathroom and she will go right back to sleep afterward and not wake up again. She never remembers and she is usually always crying throughout the whole thing but once I put her back in bed she falls back to sleep and doesn't wake up again. I think her bodies telling her to wake up but she can't seem to do it. Before I realized this trick she would have multiple night terrors during the night. I do make her go to the bathroom before bed but that doesn't always work. She loves to drink lots of water. It does seem to happen more when she is sick or is overly tired.

Hope this helps a little.

C.,
I know how difficult and scary this is for you. My five year stepdaughter has had episodes in her sleep where she moans and cries and screams and worst of all, kicks uncontrollably. The first time I witnessed this, her father was at work and I thought that it was just me that couldn't calm her. But it has happened several times since and I know now that it is not just me.

To repeat what others have suggested, I highly recommend cutting out TV, at least before bedtime. Also, reducing sugar and salty foods really helps with our little one. A nice soothing bath and comforting story right at bedtime does wonders, too. Just try to make him feel cozy so that he can drift into sleep easily. He might still have difficult nights, but creating a less stressful routine can help both of you.

I hope your nights improve.

Hi C., My son who is 7yrs old has that problem. He wakes up and he looks awake but hes not. He paces back and fourth for about 5 min. Hes been doing this since he was 3. Now, I know that he has gas bubble that he needs to get out, Its weird. Once I get him to lay on the couch, he lets some gas out and I wait a little bit and then put him back to bed. Sometimes though, its painfull. I make sure that he does not get lots of sugar before bed, I heard that can make a differece.

See if it could be gas, press on his belly gently and wait a couple minutes.

Good Luck!! T. H.

My son (7) was having very similar episodes. When I researched night terrors I felt like they didn't really fit what he was experiencing. He never woke up screaming or crying in terror. His cry was more out of frustration and being upset about something. He thrashed, scratched himself, mumbled and cried. He was very sweaty and sometimes got up and stumbled around a bit in a very confused manner. I always just rubbed his back and stayed with him until he calmed down. I asked my doctor about it and he said it sounded like he was maybe stressing about something and it was coming out in his sleep.

When he was having one of these episodes I sometimes was able to understand some of his mumbling and almost always it was about school related things like, "I can't add the numbers. The letters won't fit...." It was the beginning of the school year and we had been told by his teacher that second grade was going to be a bit challenging and that there is a big jump from 1st to 2nd grade in terms of learning and becoming more responsible.

With this information we determined that he was experiencing some stress about school and, while he never showed symtoms during the daytime, he was showing them big time at night. The episodes lasted about two months and occured almost every night. They then started to lessen in frequency and by December he was not having them anymore. It's now March and he hasn't had anymore episodes. He loves school and is doing well.

Hope this helps some.

Yes, I do think it is a night terror. My daughter did the same thing when she was around the same age as as your son. Her"terror" was different, she was always in the woods and was "terrified" of the situation. It was very distressing for us at the time. She would eventually really wake up calm and want to go to sleep. She did out grow it and it didn't take long. I don't remember how long she did this. She is now 28 years old and is a very secure young lady. I'm sure your son will outgrow it as well.

my daughter has night terrors she screams and kicks and hits me when im trying to calm her down i usually just rub her back and hmm usually after a little while that helps. My nephew also has them and what my brother does is ask him what his name is and that seem sto bring him out of it. That hasnt worked for my daughter yet but maybe when she gets older it might she is 2 and my nephew is 8

Yeah, it's night terrors. My daughter used to do the same thing. It's so weird when they're communicating or screaming for answers and you're answering but they're not listening. My daughter used to get so wrapped up in her "dream" that she'd be yelling and screaming and I'd be trying to answer her and it was like I may as well have been talking to the wall. It's so strange.
They're going through so many changes in the early stages of life that it's not surprising that they have so many strange dreams. But it'll eventually stop. Just be there and do what you've been doing. Try to stay in peace and just allow his "anxiety" to pass. You're doing all you can by just being present.

My 8 year old daughter has struggled with this for the last 3 years. Once a sleep study was done to rule out sleep apnea, which can prevent them from getting into that deeper stage of sleep, my doctor gave us permission to use Benadryl to help. It works very well-1 25mg tablet at bedtime. I don't like using it all the time, and certainly not for 3 years, but I have used it intermittently. After using it for a while, it stops working on the sleep issue, so that's when I stop giving it for a while. It has worked well for mydaughter, but I don't like the long term medication aspect. The thing you have to remember is your son really has no control over this, and hopefully he'll grow out of it soon. Just keep him safe and be calm and loving when they occur. T.

I used to have night terrors quite a lot as a child. They started when I was around 3 and lasted well into my 8th year. I remember feeling as if those dreams were reality; waking up, fully conscious but thinking that all the same things that were happening in my dreams were happening right there in my bedroom. It was extremely frightening. Now my 4 year old daughter has had them, too, although not as bad as I remember mine being. I have been pretty vigilant about getting her to bed at a time when I know she has not become 'overtired', somewhere around 8 p.m. I think this has helped alleviate some of the nightmares/night terrors. I think that for some kids, it is just a part of the emotional/intellectual maturation process, too. I haven't read much about night terrors, but what I have read about sleep training in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (by Dr. Marc Weissbluth) has been very helpful in understanding the sleep needs of children. There might be some good insight in there for you to address your son's situation.

I hope you find some answers that help your son . . . I know how bewildering that problem can be.

Blessings!

Hi C.,

My 2.5 year old son used to have night terrors as well; it is such a scary thing to experience, isn't it?!!

As the previous poster said, there are many theories as to what causes night terrors. One of the things our doctor pointed out is that they are often directly linked to being over-tired (lack of sleep!)

If you can, try putting your son to bed earlier. That is exactly what I did, and it worked! You may have to experiment to see how much earlier he needs to go to bed; try a half hour earlier. If that does not work, then maybe an hour earlier. Since my son still takes naps, I actually had to experiment with his naptime, too. He used to nap for 2.5 - 3 hours every day, but that made it so he couldn't go to sleep at a decent time (he would be awake until 10 pm most nights.) So I've cut his naps down to one hour, and now he is in bed by around 9 pm most nights. Even though my son is still getting about the same amount of sleep each day (naps and nighttime combined), it's helped to add some of that time to the bedtime sleep. Making my son go to bed earlier was sort of hard for me to do, as we are "night" people, and even my son himself has always been a night owl. My husband works late and I feel bad that my son is now in bed most of the nights my husband comes home from work. But I guess it was necessary to do, and the night terrors have stopped and have not come back for a few months now!

Good luck!!

My son did the same thing at about the same age. it did not happen to frequently but went on for abut 3 years. He is now 10 and has them maybe only 2x a year. What finally would snap him out of it was making him go to the bathroom, it sounds weird but it works. I cant remember what the reasoning was for it but what I would do was take him in to the bathroom and remove his covers. He was always very hot too. I couldnt snap him out of it for the longest time and would just hold him until finally he went back to sleep. So, the next time it happens remove his covers or take his shirt off and take him into the bathroom and tell him to try to go. I know it really helped us because it was a horrible feeling seeing him that way and it would always be the same dream that he was having. Good luck, hope it helps. Let me know if it does!!!!

My youngest (who's 3) suffers from them, as did my brother. Dealing with potty trained children, I'm told is a lot easier. The doctor told my mom to have my brother go to the bathroom. Something about going to the bathroom wakes them up and snaps them out of it. Just because your sons eyes are open does not mean he is awake. What we do with my daughter, because she isn't potty trained, is get her moving - and more than just peddling a bike. We have actually had to shake her a bit, or swing her arms really fast. Anything that that will wake them up. Once you get him awake, he'll calm down and you can put him to bed. The comment about "Can I be in here?" means that in his night terror he has rode his bike to someplace he doesn't think he should be. He doesn't recognize where he is, or what is going on. If he's waking up a couple times a night, a may mean that he hasn't "exited" the first night terror, and it has resurfaced. If you're really concerned about them you may want to talk to your doctor - he, or she, may have some other suggestions to bring him out of them. The good news is that my brother did, eventually, grow out of them.

Yes - they are night terrors, and will pass soon. It's next to impossible to wake them up, so be patient, don't try to communicate, as that usually only confuses them more. As my kids got older, they told me what it felt like: slow motion, weird sounds, scary! I found that it was alieviated a little by having a very calm evening, with nothing dramatic on TV or video. Dreams help us process all the day's events, and for little kids, it can be quite a lot to process! Keep loving!

I am going thru the same thing with my 9 year old daughter....it can be very frightening for the parents too!!! I am usually in bed asleep when she wakes up....running thru the house screaming, and crying, and babbling, I have been hit with a pan and had caught her on the way out of the house!!! I used to keep track of when the terrors would happen and then rack my brain about what events could have bothered her from the night before! We have gone to counseling and many doctor's appointments. The best advice/information that I recieved was off the internet. It said that most kids outgrow these night terrors!!! Ours have slowed down drastically, hopefully we are on our way out of them.
I definately believe your son is having night terrors, your description is right out of the book! They say not to wake them up, but try to make sure they can't get hurt...keep him safe. I do the same thing, try to comfort my girl, tell her that I am right here and scoot her back to bed! Good news, my girly doesn't remember anything in the morning!

I am a mother of 3 boys and they have all had there share of night terrors. It is an age thing. But the question is the pattern. I remember many of my terrors as a child as well as all the stories that have been told of the talking and walking in my sleep. Years later found that I have a sleep disorder called Narcolepsy. Night terrors as children get older moves into a totally different class. They are now in a class of sleep disorders. I am a member of a sleep disorder chat website. I co-host chats based on ALL sleep disorders. Number one thing that I think you should do is make a journal. This journal should document every episode with time, day, and a detailed description of what happens and for how long. If you see a pattern this should be brought to the attention of you family doctor.
To learn the different types of sleep disorders that are out there. As well as learning what the different stages of sleep a body must go through. Come and visit us. www.talkaboutsleep.com
Having improper sleep stages can cause a body and mind to do many things we never expected.
Hope this was helpful.
Good luck to you
C.

Of course, all I can do is speak from my experience. My 6 year old daughter has had similar episodes to what you are describing all her life, up until just the last few months. It still happens on occassion.
It seems to be somewhat related to her breathing. Like if she has a cold and is congested, it's more likely to happen. So we had her tonsils taken out when she was three. That didn't really help.
Also, it seems to be related to her excema. I mention this because you said your son is itching his skin. If we have her excema under control, she's less likely to wake up due to itchy, irritated skin. We you Aveeno lotion on her entire body in the morning and at bedtime.
You might try a fan (on low) in his room if he gets to hot, since you said he sweats.
Also, my daughter just hates to be alone. Ever since we let her sleep on the floor in her brothers' room, she been less likely to wake with an episode, and more easily consoled.
She is consoled sometimes by just having her back or leg or arm gently rubbed. Sometimes she is inconsolable and we have taken her out to the attached garage in the winter. It's like she needs to be shocked (cold air) back out of the state she's in!
She is a deep sleeper, and she still often wets the bed. So you might have that trouble,too...Good luck!

sounds like night terrors, my daughter used to get them a lot. i started just trying to get her up and take her to the bathroom, my mom used to tell me that nightmares are our bodies way of getting us up to go pee. i'm not sure if that's correct but it seems to work.

I had them when I was little. I remember my aunt would give me something to drink which helped me in slowly waking up from it.

My son, 10yrs old, just had one last night (3-21-08). He has them from time to time. I don't try to wake him, because he is "still dreaming". I DO however take him to the bathroom and give him a drink of water to help him wake up in a non-disruptive way.

I talk to him a little about something happy that happened the day before. I sometimes pray with him too. Anything simple and comforting will soothe your son back to peaceful sleep. Good luck.

Hi. My name is W. and my oldest daughter, now 14, had night terrors. Much of what you describe is all too familiar. I know how frightening they can be for mom and dad. But rest assured, my daughter has no recollection of them. She never did the next morning either. All you can do is what you are now doing. Hang in there. He will out grow them. I had a cousin who's young son would fall asleep in his stroller in the day time, out in public, and this would happen!!! Can you imagine the looks they got!

Hi C.- Our son has had episodes like you describe for over a year now (they started when he was about 5). He starts by whimpering and seems very aggitated. He usually cries (without tears) and keeps asking for mommy and daddy (even though we are right there). He then mumbles and seems to be talking but we can't understand him. We speak softly to him and lately I have talked about things that have happened during the day (hopefully to get him to realize where he is). He sometimes runs through the house as if he is looking for something. I have read a lot about it and find that it is perhaps something called confusional arousal (realated to sleepwalking and night terrors). http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/C/confusional_arousals.html. I have also talked to our doctor and he doesn't seem to be concerned. We find that it happens more often when he is over tired. Our son doesn't remember anything in the a.m. so we just remain calm. One of the articles I read said that it is more frightening for someone seeing it! I agree! Good Luck!

Hello,

Sounds like a night terror to me. My son does some of that, but he screams and cries also. We actually have to take him out of his room and attempt to calm him down. I have a homeopathic remedy that I use for him and it seemed to help.

Just keep doing what you are doing. Do not leave him alone, as he may wake up and be rather frightened!