Recently my son has started waking up some nights screaming. He is hard to console and takes about an hour to go back to sleep. It isn't every night. He always gets a bed time snack and I've noticed that it seems to correlate to certain foods he eats. For example, two nights in a row he woke up and those nights I gave him one gummy worm. The third night no gummy worm and he slept through the night. Does anyone know if there is a correlation between foods and night terrors?
Thanks so much.
Amy
I would recommend not giving sugary snacks before bed. Try apples with peanut butter perhaps or cheese, nuts and dried fruit or applesauce. Maybe try giving it to him a half hour to an hour before bedtime. Make sure your child is relaxed and calm before going to bed. Reading helps. If you don't sleep with him already maybe try that as well.
Hi Amy.
I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but today's Albuquerque Journal has a article written about a new book, "Sleep Deep..." by Karen Williamson in which she writes about correlations between diet and sleep.
One of her tips: no cheese in the afternoons or evenings because it increases and amino acid called tyramine, which releases adrenaline and causes nightmares and vivid dreams. The article goes on to recommend higher-carb (and moderate to lower-protein) dinners for overall better sleep.
This does not connect with gummy worms (Mmm, cheesy-worms!), but it does show a connection beween diet and sleep, at least in adults.
T
I had night terrors as a child. I never noticed any relation between food and my dreams. If I got hot, I would have terrible nightmares. So, maybe see if he's getting hot when he sleeps.
Hi, Take a look at food dyes and preservatives they affect my son the same way. If your son is old enough try a spoon full of peanut butter, this works for us, I'd also let the babies doctor know he/she may be helpful Good Luck
Patty
Several factors could be involved, but in general, yes, foods do affect sleep. It's been shown that a body that is out of ph balance, being more acidic, will not promote restful sleep or pleasant dreams. You could try the old warm milk trick before bed and watch the intake of processed foods which create a more acidic environment.
Hi Amy,
The correlation seems like it could be something. I would bet that the gummy worm has high fructose corn syrup in it. I don't have any experience with night terrors yet, but I recommend checking out the "food lab" yahoo group. It is a great group with a lot of mamas experienced in dealing with food-related reactions in their children. I think they would be able to answer your question.
Good luck!
It could be related to food colorings, sugars, etc. Maybe offer a snack of fruit or natural foods like trail mix, yogurt, etc. Or, if that doesn't work, eliminate the snack altogether and opt for a glass of milk?
Best,
Colleen
I personally adamantly think food has a lot to do with night terrors. There of course could be other causes. And some argue that it is the sugar and not the dye...and I don't buy it for a minute. This being that there are plenty of sugar free gums that have dye...and my daughter turns into a crazy scared little fighter in her sleep as a result. Also I notice when she does not have dye...she sleeps a whole lot better. I also question additives and preservatives...things like MSG, aspartame, as I have seen her react to foods with no food dye with these components as well.
To be on the safe side I would stick to a low sugar, no dye or preservative snack. Say a few crackers, or even some left overs, a bowl of oateos. I typically have crackers, peanut or sunflower butter, or goat cheese and crackers..my kids are a bit older, so baby carrots, celery, and raw green beans are some things that I just have around for them as well as fresh fruit. I also try to make sure they finish dinner without leaving hungry... only other thing I can think of, if this does not work, is if there has been an emotional change in your child's life.
Good luck and may sleep find you :)
I always understood that night terrors were developmental, but your child is far too young. I do a lot of research with nutrition, and I definately think you're onto something. I'm assuming that the gummy worm has high fructose corn syrup as well as other sugars. HFCS isn't fit for human consumption, and with such a small child I would think it may be harder to digest. Keep up the good detective work!
We've always done a little warm milk or sleepytime tea here...
Hello Amy,
I would recommend no sugar after 6:00 pm. That is what we did with our daughter. Sunday - Thursday no soda at all but she could have some on Fridays and Saturdays. Then she couldn't have anything with sugar in it after 6:00 pm and we did this routine all the way through High School. We figured she needed her sleep at night and kept caffeine and sugar away from her on certain days and times. I hope this helps.
Darlene
I've got a 19 mo old son who also gets a snack before bedtime, but I don't do sugar. I know even in me, if I eat something right before bed I get crazy dreams. Some ideas for bedtime, Costco sells an organic animal cracker that my son loves but are still healthy, we also do wheat rolls or a slice of wheat bread.
Good luck!
I know that this has nothing to do with food, but my daughter has night terrors according to her nap schedule. Every time she doesn't get a nap, it is guaranteed that she will wake up with a night terror. Just another thing to consider with your little one.
Night terrors frequently occur about an hour after a child falls asleep. Although food may have a connection to night terrors, I'm not aware of it. I did a lot of research not long ago when my 23 month old started developing night terrors (different from nightmares in that the child isn't really awake and can't be consoled). Common to night terrors is becoming very physical. My son would pound on the floor and intentionally smack his head on the floor/other. One of the biggest factors contributing to night terrors is lack of sleep....being overtired. Try to have your child go to sleep a little earlier and make sure that he/she is gettting enough nap time. At the time I was breaking my son of sleeping with his pacifier at night which contributed to him not sleeping as well for awhile. They didn't go away immediately and would even pop up occasionally up to a year later (once on a plane). Not much you can do when the child is in the night terror except to try to keep him safe. I also read that for some children taking them out in the night air might wake them up and snap them out of it (didn't work for my son).
Increase sleep time.
Does he wake up at the same time each night or after the same length of sleep if bedtime is later or earlier? My son went through HORRIBLE night terrors. No matter what time he went to bed, he woke up about 1 1/2 hours after falling asleep. I finally consulted a doctor, and he said it was the text book definition of night terrors. He recommended (and at first I thought it sounded crazy) that we fully wake him 15 minutes before he would normally wake with the night terrors. At first I was apprehensive, because I thought, "Why would I wake him? Maybe he'll sleep through tonight." After a few more weeks of suffering, I decided to give it a try. After waking him every night 15 minutes earlier than he would possibly start his night terror for one whole week, his night terrors vanished completely!!! That was last August. As for the food, my sister's pediatrician told her that there is a link between milk and night terrors. I suppose if milk could cause it then other foods could as well. I hope this helps. If you truly think it's night terrors, I'd try waking him before they start. Good luck!
Sugar before bed can cause waking. Try just giving him a small cup of milk if he wants something before bed. Eating before bed can cause bad habits.
Good Luck.
each body is different and it reacts differently to things. if you notice a corrolation between gummy worm and night terror there is very possibly a link! stop giving them to him and see if it improves, that's the only way to tell for sure.
Amy,
I think I have heard something like that but it is not good for anyone to eat before they go to bed especial your toddler and giving him candy before he goes to bed is not good. Your giving him sugar and I think that is what is giving him the nightmares. I have a 3 year old daughter and she has dinner and her glass of milk but nothing after dinner because we eat a little later than normal and she sleeps through the night just fine. I hope this helps. Good luck
steph
my son also experienced night terrors.....i'm not sure if there is a food connection or not.....it probably would be a good idea to give only none sugar bedtime snacks. when my son had his first night terror, i freaked out.....i thought that there was something major wrong.....it took a long time to get him settled down that first time. when the terror happened again, i stayed calm, took him back to bed (he walked around the house during these episodes), rubbed his back, told him it was ok and to just relax.....this seemed to work, so i used this routine whenever the terrors happened. the thing to remember is that the child is not awake and aware of what is happening....just staying calm and soothing and acting as though nothing major is going on worked for us. my son did outgrow the terrors....he's now 21 and sleeps like a log....lol!!!!!
Our first child is due in June, so I don't know how this affects kids, but I know if I eat something sweet before bed, I have nightmares too! I've found if I have a sweet bedtime snack, it needs to be a couple hours before I go to bed... otherwise, my sleep is disturbed with weird dreams.