this is what you can do about it

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Does your child become restless or upset if he has just been in bed for an hour? Chances are he suffers from night terrors. We found out for you what you can do about it.

If you put your child to bed, he will fall asleep wonderfully. But within an hour or two, he suddenly wakes up and becomes upset. He then suffers from night terrors. This is a sleep problem that affects one in fifteen to thirty children. Toddlers mainly suffer from it, but also older children.

The cause of night terrors is unknown, although it is thought to be caused by an overstimulated central nervous system. It is clear that a child is more likely to experience night terrors due to sleep deprivation, tension and fever. If your child occasionally suffers from night terrors, it can’t hurt. They usually grow over it.

How do you notice?

Screaming, sweating, a red face or slurred speech: these are all signs that you can tell that your child is suffering from night terrors. Sometimes it looks like your toddler is awake, but often it isn’t. Such an attack usually lasts from a few minutes to a maximum of half an hour.

Night terrors look like a nightmare, but it’s not the same. After a nightmare, your child often remembers that he had a scary dream. Most children do not remember anything with night terrors. Night terrors also occur at the beginning of the night and your child immediately continues to sleep peacefully, while nightmares arise later in the night and your child has difficulty falling asleep again.

What can you do?

As annoying as it is to see your child upset, don’t try to wake them up. Sometimes this makes the night terrors worse and it can be difficult to comfort him and get him back to sleep. Your child will go back to sleep peacefully. You may want to sit with him and talk to him softly. In any case, make sure your child stays away from stairs, windows and walls to avoid getting hurt.

To reduce night terrors, you can ensure a regular sleeping pattern. Always put your child to bed at the same time and follow the same ritual: for example, brush your teeth, put on pajamas, read aloud, cover up and turn off the light.

If your child always gets restless or wakes up because of the night terrors around the same time, you can wake him up 15-30 minutes before to go to the toilet. That way, he will start a new sleep cycle and hopefully the transition to deep sleep can go smoothly.

If your child suffers from it for a long time, night terrors occur more often or you are very concerned, contact your doctor.

Source: Slingeland Sleep Center, 24Baby, Eachnight