Earlier a mum mentioned that her little one has night terrors. We know this is something a few of you have had to deal with, so what should you do? How do you help your little one settle? The NHS say A night terror attack may be triggered by anything that: increases how much deep sleep your child has, such as tiredness, fever or certain types of medication makes your child more likely to wake from deep sleep, such as excitement, anxiety or sudden noise nhs.uk/conditions/night-terrors/Pages/Introduction.aspx What are night terrors? Night terrors, sometimes referred to as confusional arousal, occur in five to 15 per cent of children between the ages of four and six, though they can appear in babies as young as nine months. Technically speaking, they are caused by partial awakenings from non-REM, or non-dream, sleep. A child in this state may cry, whimper, and flail. He wont look scared, but hell appear to be confused, says Dr. Richard Ferber, author of Solve Your Childs Sleep Problems (Dorling Kindersley). How are they different from nightmares? Nightmares occur during rapid eye movement (REM) or dream sleep. A child who has had a nightmare is likely to have a clear idea of what scared him, though before before he is about two, he probably wont be able to articulate his fright. He may also be afraid to fall back asleep, and in the morning, he may remember that he had a bad dream. How long do night terrors last? An episode may last anywhere from two or three minutes to around thirty minutes. A child having a night terror cannot be calmed down. It can be very frightening to a parent because repeated attempts to soothe the child have no effect. How should I handle them? Of course, youll want to comfort your baby, and you should, but thats not enough. Since the baby is stuck between two sleep stages, you can try to offer him a bottle so he can go into deeper sleep, or take him out of his bed to another room, which might rouse him. If neither measure has any effect its important to remember, say the experts, that the child isnt actually awake. And though its upsetting to see your child thrashing about in distress, attempts to comfort may not help; in fact, in many cases, your baby wont even know youre there. What should I do when one occurs? Its best to sit nearby and wait for the episode to pass. You can try taking your child into another room or outside where the temperature is very different. This may bring him into a lighter sleep state. Within 15 to 20 minutes your child should calm down, curl up, and fall asleep again. He wont recall the incident in the morning, and its best not to remind him of it. How do I prevent them? There are steps you can take to head off night terrors. Children who go to bed agitated or overtired are more likely to suffer these sleep disturbances. Babies under a year old usually need between 13 and 14 hours of sleep a day, including two daytime naps, whilst older children may sleep nine or ten hours at night, with a one-hour nap. So that you know your child is getting enough sleep, lengthen his nap time, let him sleep a little later in the morning, or put him to bed earlier. And make sure that theres plenty of time for calming bedtime rituals, such as bath-time, songs, stories, and lots of cuddles. Since night terrors tend to happen in the first part of the night, after your child has been asleep for two or three hours, you can try to prevent them by gently waking him up about 15 minutes before the typical episode would start. This should alter the sleep pattern and prevent the night terror from creeping into his slumber. babycentre.co.uk/a553861/night-terrors
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 11:59:44 +0000
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