The first thing you should know is that night terrors are frequent. 40% of children have had an episode. In this article we will give you a few guidelines on how to deal with these night terrors of your children, and tips to avoid them.
One of the first important things is knowing how to distinguish between night terrors and nightmares. When it comes to night terrors, the child quickly awakens from his terrified sleep. You can do it screaming and confused, but don't remember why. Physically you may be sweating, with rapid breathing and heart rate, and dilated pupils. The episode lasts about 10 to 20 minutes and then you go back to sleep.
Tips to prevent night terrors in children
Night terrors happen in deep sleep, during the early hours of the night. It is very important that the child manages to fall asleep peacefully. For it we will remove the elements that excite you and activate before going to bed. Video games, and mobile or tablet screens, even if they watch relaxing programs, are actually very exciting and increase the possibility of night terrors.
A bath before bed, follow a routine, have a regular scheduleEven if it's the weekend, being safe in your room will help you fall asleep. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep every day. Some specialists do not consider it appropriate to leave a light on as a guide, while others do recommend it.
Help him to manage your emotions. Talk about your concerns, or if something is bothering you. This will prevent them from accumulating. If he is old enough, ask him to write in a journal with the activities he has to do the next day. So you don't worry about forgetting something.
Advice on how mothers should act
One of the first tips that we should give you is that don't be worried yourself for what happens. The most normal thing is that the child does not remember what happened the night before, but when he sees your tension, he will think that something bad is happening, and this can cause anxiety and stress.
Don't try to wake up your daughter while she suffers the episode of night terror, she can be violent with whoever wakes her up. On a practical level, remove any object near the bed and separate it a little from the wall, to avoid injury when moving. So that you are calmer you can enter your room slowly or watch him from the door. Remember that your child is not suffering, they usually calm down and go back to sleep in a few minutes.
There is a therapy that has been shown to be effective in many cases. Its about wake up scheduled. If your child usually has the terrors around the same time, wake him up 15-30 minutes before they happen. So we can break the sleep cycle and prevent the episode.
Common causes of night terrors
Know the most common causes that cause night terrors in children will help you prevent them, or at least try to control them. These are:
Family background. The tendency to suffer from night terrors can be inherited, 80% of children with night terrors have a family member with this problem. It is possible that your older brothers and sisters have also had it or one of their parents.
Development immature brain. Sometimes night terrors reflect stages of development in which the brain is still immature. This is the reason why the child, the girl, has difficulty fully coming out of very deep sleep or waking up, and an incomplete awakening occurs.
La fever and certain medications can also increase the phases of deep sleep by making them even deeper.
La Lack of sleep, hyperactivity, THA, or having irregular sleep schedules, can help to appear terrors at night.
In general, night terrors disappear as the child grows, around 12-15 years. If it remains frequently or appears after this age, we recommend that you consult a specialist.
