Night Terrors and your child's sleep...

Did you know little over 80% of school aged children display signs of night terrors, sleep walking, nightmares or sleep talking? Typically in boys although girls are still prone to night terrors, and aged between 3 and 12 years of age.

Here I will discuss the night terror, it is not to be confused with nightmares as they both show individual signs and are very different from each other.

A night terror will typically occur in the first part of the night’s sleep, the deeper sleep (NREM). This is the Non Rapid Eye Movement.
This would be from bedtime until around midnight.

So how do you distinguish if your child is experiencing a night terror? Well, your child will “wake” very suddenly, almost like a shock to the system, sit bolt upright and wide eyed. You may think they are actually awake because they look very alert and of course their eyes are open. However they are still asleep and in a very deep state of sleep. Your child may scream and it could be a very loud ear piercing scream. The scream may even scare you, and my experience of night terrors it sure scared me. Then what may happen, well you child will probably get out of bed, start running around, start talking, almost in a fit of rage and seem like they are on a serious mission looking for something or perhaps nothing. They can be very forceful and if you are dealing with an older child here they can be very strong and physical, almost aggressive. They may be inconsolable cry loudly and look like they are terrified.
Your child is in a super deep state of sleep. They are completely unaware of what they are doing.

How long will each episode last?
Research tell us about 10 minutes or so.

How should you respond?
It is vital you keep calm yourself and do not wake your child. If you wake them you will only frighten them more. You must calmly and gently guide your child back to their bed. Don’t force them. Don’t wake them. Just offer you love, support and comfort.

What cause’s these night terrors?
Here I explain the reasons and some ways to prevent night terrors occurring,

• Sleep Deprivation

This is the most common reason. Many of us do not know that our children are suffering on some sort of sleep debt and if your child is severely sleep deprived their body will have a greater drive to fall into that deep state of sleep (NREM)
 

• Pre Emptive Stirring

This is when you wake your child ever so slightly, rousing them from a deep sleep, from one sleep cycle into another.
 
The best way to do this for preventing night terrors would be to start taking a diary of the times your child is waking with a night terror. You may see a pattern, for example at 10pm every night. It will most probably be in the earlier part of the night. Then once you have noticed a pattern you can rouse your child about 30 minutes before this time. Do this for 7 consecutive night for a week. The following week do it for 6 consecutive nights. The following week do it for 5 consecutive nights and so on…until you get to one night and potentially they may have ceased.
 

• Ensure your child has regular naps appropriate for their age and stage of development and a consistent early bedtime every single day and night.

This will ensure your child’s circadian rhythm is set and regulates. This will co inside with ensuring they are getting the sleep they require.

• Food

Some foods may trigger night terrors. Avoid caffeine and sugar fuelled foods such as sugary drinks and chocolate. This is a stimulant and will disturb peaceful sleep.
 

• Stressful events and illness

Some of these events are for the most part unavoidable they can play havoc on anyone’s sleep and in children especially as they may not know how to comprehend or process the situation or know what or why it is happening. Events such as exams, divorce or moving house are possible reasons. It would be worthwhile trying some stress relieving tactics such as mindfulness or yoga before bedtime to help relax your child and “de-stress” preparing for a peaceful sleep. Don’t talk about anxious subjects in the lead up to bed time. Keep these conversations to earlier in the day.
 
Did you know your child has an 80-90% chance of experiencing night terrors if it runs in the family along with sleep talking and sleep walking?

Seek professional medical advice if you are in any way concerned, if your child is experiencing many night terrors on a regular basis and or several times a night.

Settling your child...

​
SETTLING YOUR CHILD
 
All babies respond differently to settling techniques and a lot of this comes down to the temperament of your child. Of course they have to be of an age and stage of development that they are ready for learning new skills of sleeping independently and we need to ensure we have set up the perfect environment for them to sleep in. Have they had the right naps today? Are they going down at appropriate times according to their awake windows, are they hungry, are they too hot or cold….there are a lot of variables to consider.

Of course when settling a child to sleep and indeed encouraging them back to sleep highly depends on what technique will suit them best. A technique that you may have used when they were 6 months old may very well not work when they are 2 years old and may not suit your friend’s child. Even the circumstances have an impact which method you choose to settle your child. Every child is different and we have to come up with a loving, caring plan that takes a holistic look into their world of sleep and their environment.

Up to the age of 12 weeks it is most common and very usual to use a hands on method such as rocking, feeding or motion to sleep. Sucking for young new-borns is also a great technique because that is what they can do best and it is super calming for them. Of course if you can settle them in their own sleep space and not on you or with motion this is amazing and will stand in great stead for future sleep.

When your baby nears 8-12 weeks you may find naps become shorter, maybe even cat napping starts or waking after one sleep cycle (30-40 minutes) or they may be waking every 2 hours in the night. There may be a few different reasons for this and it could be the settling technique or perhaps something different like over tiredness from the previous day is the culprit.

Don’t forget to introduce positive sleep associations for your baby during the New born stage (0-12 weeks)

• Swaddle
• Dark room
• White noise

 
New-borns may rely heavily on things such as sucking, rocking, and motion to sleep and at this age it is all about supporting to sleep so if you find yourself rocking your New born to sleep go for it. The aim in these early weeks is supporting sleep.

4-6 MONTHS
This age is a real game changer. Babies are so impressionable at this age and once through the 4 month sleep “progression” they are ready to learn new tricks and skills! This is particularly so if you are experiencing disturbed nights.
The technique you used when they were tiny may very well not work now. Perhaps they have a sleep crutch such as a dummy or feed to sleep. It may have worked previously but not now. They have outgrown that technique and need a different approach.

6 -12 MONTHS
Your Little One will be going through a lot of developmental changes and if sleep is an issue it is now time to seek solutions on how to help your Little One sleep independently. If you would like your baby to nap well during the day and settle themselves back to sleep in the night the sooner you tackle this the better chance at succeeding sooner rather than later. Of course babies over 12 months can and will absolutely learn how to sleep independently but they have stronger personalities and can push back more.

Children of all ages over 4 months are absolutely capable of sleeping 11-12 hours a night and not require a feed but that statement is very age and stage dependent. Many babies still need a feed until the age of 12 months.

Always bear in mind the temperament and age of your child when deciding what technique you would like to use when teaching your Little One to self-settle to sleep independently back into a peaceful slumber.
​
If you would like some help and advice with your Little Ones’ sleep do get in touch,  your free 15 minute Discovery Call is there waiting for you! I take a loving, caring, in depth, holistic look into your child’s world of and will advise accordingly.