It is often seen that young children are terrified at some unseen stimuli. Sometimes, they even exhibit a look of sheer terror. At times, they can even act ‘weird’ or unresponsive. You might find a child wandering out of bed in the middle of night and sitting on the floor in tears. Any kind of such strange behavior on waking or appeared wakening can be termed as a night terror. Though night terrors are common in young children, especially boys between ages 3 - 5, if it becomes a regular feature or has happened a few times, parents should consult a child physician.
Moreover, children after the age of seven years are seen overgrowing out of this kind of a problem. Night terror is basically caused by an interruption in the normal sleep cycle. It is not a nightmare rather stage - 3 and stage - 4 sleep in which children experience these bouts of terror. Night terrors are usually linked with stressful situations and lack of sleep. Problems at home or school can also be blamed for the same. Moreover, knowing the signs and symptoms of the same will help you in tackling the problem in a better way.
Signs & Symptoms
- Sudden bouts of apparent awakening, which means that the child appears awake but is in deep sleep.
- Overwhelming fear, terror, or strange behavior occurring at night
- Fast heart beat
- Screaming or crying
- Confusion
- Sweating
- No memory of the event
- Inability to wake up fully
- Irritable and difficult to sooth back to sleep
