"Night terrors" are a kind of scary dream
that occur during deep sleep (usually
between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.). A child having
a night terror will often wake up
screaming, sweating and breathing fast.
The child's eye pupils (the black center
of the eye) may appear larger than normal
due to sympaticus stimulation. Or, a child
may still be asleep when experiencing
night terror, with open eyes. In these
cases, children will be confused and might
not answer when parents ask what's wrong
or a child may be difficult to wake. When
the child wakes up, s/he usually won't
remember what happened.
Nightmares and night terrors in children
are usually not caused by mental or
physical illness. Often nightmares happen
after a stressful physical or emotional
event. Night terrors require that parents
protect their child during sleep. The home
should be safe (use toddler gates on
staircases and don't use bunk beds for
children who have nightmares or night
terrors often). Night terrors usually
become rarer and vanish completely when
children get older. Talk with your doctor
if your child ever gets hurt while
sleeping or become unable to function
during the day. Your doctor may want to
study your child during sleep to exclude
epilepsy.
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