Night Terrors

My apologies in advance for the long post but I really found this interesting.....

Night terrors, what are they? Where do they come from? Why do people have them? Before this weekend I really didn't know the answers to any of these questions. Let me rewind a bit and give you some history.

Nakoa, our 6 year old boy, has been experiencing night terrors for well over a year now. To be quiet honest, at first I had a hard time believing that this was indeed a true disorder and that Koa was actually having these episodes and not just acting out, or doing something to get attention. You see, he has been through a lot in his short little life with divorce, being separated from his dad, moved around from house to house etc. etc.. Maybe this was just his way of telling someone he needed some attention, right?

The episodes are very hard to handle because it is extremely difficult to console him and get him to calm down. In fact, he is usually pretty successful at waking up the entire house before he is done. He will wake up, sit up in bed, scream, cry, walk around deliriously, even talk to you (even though half the time he doesn't make any sense), and the entire time he is asleep. In the morning when we would ask him about what had happened the night before his memory would draw a blank. Then I began to wonder "How can you not remember something that intense?"

Well, this weekend, Nick and I decided it was time to start reading.....

Nick found a very interesting website that was put together by a grown man who suffers from night terrors. The site is http://www.nightterrors.org/. What I read not only made me feel horrible for being so intolerant of Koa's spells, but made me feel awful for him and what he has been experiencing for months and months, even years now. Here is some info from the site:

OK, so first off, what are the symptoms? Sudden awakening from sleep, persistent fear or terror that occurs at night, screaming, sweating, confusion, rapid heart rate, inability to explain what happened, usually no recall of "bad dreams" or nightmares, may have a vague sense of frightening images. Many people see spiders, snakes, animals or people in the room, are unable to fully awake, difficult to comfort, with no memory of the event on awakening the next day. Although night terrors can occur anytime in a persons life span, the most common is reported in children between the ages of three and five.

Night terrors have been shown to appear in stage 4 of sleep. This is just one thing that separates them from nightmares which can occur anytime in sleep. It is possible to make a night terror occur in some people, simply by touching or awakening them during stage 4 of sleep. Why night terrors occur is still a mystery. The mind is supposed to be practically void during the deeper stages of sleep. Most sufferers will awake gasping, moaning, crying but more often screaming.

Breathing rapidly they will sit up in bed with a wide eyed terror filled stare. This panic will often last anywhere from five to twenty minutes. I find the most amazing aspect of night terrors is that it generates a heart rate of 160 to 170 beats per minute. This is much faster than the normal heart rate that can be attained under most stressful circumstances.

Some things that can help bring out a night terror are stress, medications that affect the brain, (It is hard to list exactly which ones) being over-tired or eating a heavy meal before going to bed. Combining all of the above I can usually guarantee an occurrence for myself. Many different medical ailments contribute to the frequency of Night Terrors. (Once again to many and to hard to list, Please do not e-mail me to have one added.) The listed items DO NOT cause night terrors, they just seem to put your body into the state where a night terror can manifest itself. People without night terrors will not have a night terror just by trying the above.

There seems to be a common thread in how night terrors manifest themselves. Many people who remember the night terror have talked about seeing animals or people. Most people describe the person that they see as dark and shadowy and feel that the person is going to hurt them. Quite a few people see snakes and spiders. At first I thought people were seeing only things they are afraid of during waking hours. After more research I found that only a small percentage of people were afraid of what they see (in night terrors) during waking hours.
Some people remember the Night Terror. Some don't. There is no explanation to why some have no recall of the events during a Night Terror. If you are told by a doctor that the fact you remember your night terror it must not be a night terror, find another doctor.

Many people have written me to disagree, but I have found the best method of controlling someone during a night terror is to hug and reassure them and tell them that everything is all right. Agree with what they are saying and doing. Sometimes it is not possible to hug them. Don't try to force physical contact. DO NOT yell at them or tell them they are only dreaming as this seems to only upset them even more. Move objects that can injure the person out of the way. This method seems to work better in children rather than in adults. (Adults are a little more physical) The most important thing to remember is that someone having a night terror does not know what they are doing. Make sure that there is not anything nearby that they can hurt themselves or others with. It is perfectly safe to wake someone who is having a Night Terror. Please be gentle!

It is also interesting to note that two other disorders, sleepwalking and bed wetting, are experienced during stage 4 of sleep. (Don't e-mail me and ask me about those disorders though.) Even more interesting is the fact that all three of these sleep disorders often run in families. My father only realized he had night terrors after I started researching the subject. Some families will dismiss night terrors as nightmares and grow more and more upset blaming the problem on television or other before bed stimulus. Episodic night terrors DO NOT signify psychological problems. Don't ever tell the subject that nothing has happened. It is OK to tell that person, the next morning, they had a night terror. It is however not advisable to notify children the next morning if they do not remember.

As I continued reading the site I found an article from a woman whose son has night terrors. She lists some things that can help lower the risk of having an episode, and eventually says that helped cure her son. Some of the things she suggests are:

*** Stress plays a major factor in NTs. If your child goes to bed later than normal, has a busy, event filled evening, or doesn't have a nap or at least a rest time during the day, this could lead to a NT. Try to devote an hour before bedtime for "cool down." For Tyler this meant a nice warm bath, listening to lullabies, reading books or snuggling with mommy and daddy. Don't try to put your child to bed overly tired. It sounds crazy, but the more tired they are the worse the NT can be.

*** Heat is another major factor in NTs. You may notice your child sweating when he is having a NT. This is common, however if the child is hot when going to sleep, it will be worse. We always kept a window cracked in our sons room for fresh air. We dressed him in light-weight, 100% cotton pajamas. During the hot summer months, he just wore a diaper or a diaper and T-shirt. No feet in the pajamas! He had several NTs when he was screaming something was biting his feet and we found him pulling on the feet of his pajamas. If your child must sleep with a blanket, make sure they are not wrapped up in it or it is not too hot. We used to give Tyler a cotton receiving blanket or light crib blanket. When we came to bed we made sure the blanket was just over him, not wrapped around him to the point that he was "stuck."

*** We used a noise machine in his room at night. This is a machine that can be purchased at any major department store for $35-$75. This machine emits a steady soothing sound. This helps the child in transition from REM sleep to deep sleep. Again, during the summer months, the window air conditioner did the trick. These machines can have a variety of sounds, from ocean, wind, waterfall, birds, lullabies. You can pick what your child feels most comfortable with. It is soothing for adults too!

*** We gave Tyler KID Chamomile. This is an herbal remedy found at your health food store. I have done a lot of research on drugs vs. herbs and found that herbal remedies, while not being as strong or quick to react, have much lower side effects and are not usually habit forming. There are many herbs out there for use in relaxation for children specifically. Again, with trial and error, you have to find the one that works best for your child. It also is not an overnight cure. It takes about a week of doses to begin working. We gave this to Tyler about an hour before bedtime.

*** Do not give a child Benadryl to help NTs. This drug is for allergies and the claim that it helps with NTs is because the side effect of Benadryl is drowsiness. It is like an adult taking night time cold medicine to help sleep when they are not sick. You should never use a drug just for the side effects.

*** I also did alot of research on aroma therapy. I found that lavender was very calming for Tyler. I burned a lavender scented candle in his room for about two hours before bedtime with the doors closed. I used Candle Scents from Glade. When I put him to bed, we blew it out. The aroma stayed in his room almost all night. During the day I used a light ring with lavender essential oil. This is a terra cotta ring that fits over a light bulb in a lamp. You put a few drops of oil in the ring and then on the bulb. The heat from the lamp heats the oil and fills the room with lavender aroma. Very relaxing.

*** Never try to wake your child up during the NT. Even though they may talk to you or react to what you are saying, they are actually asleep. They will not remember the NT the next day. We used very soothing words with Tyler. Like, "Everything is ok, mommy and daddy are right here, we love you", etc. Sometimes when that didn't work in calming him, I would try to divert his attention by asking him questions very directly like, "Where is the kitty cat?" or "Where is you Elmo?" I tried to stay as calm as possible. The more excited and loud I got, the worse it was for him. Try to adjust yourself to what your child is asking for. If they don't want to be held, don't hold them. If they ask for you to hold them, hold them. Don't just assume that since your child is screaming they want you to hold them.

*** Don't dwell on the NTs the next day. Don't ask about what the child remembers. This may scare them because they really don't remember, but your descriptions may scare them. Try to limit your conversations to outsiders about your child when the child is present. Your child my feel guilty and confused about keeping you awake which adds to the stress which makes the NT worse. It's just a vicious cycle.

*** Also remember that pediatricians do not know a lot about this condition. There is no blood test to diagnose it and no prescription to cure it so in most cases the answer from them is that it is normal and they will grow out of it. I think that if more of their children had NTs they would be more willing to help with finding the cure.

*** All of these things in combination have helped in "curing" Tyler of his NTs. He has not had any since late July. We have stopped the chamomile, lavender and noise machine. We do, however, make sure he has a rest time during the day and calm evening and we still dress him lightly and use a light blanket.

Now that I know a little more about what Night Terrors are, and some of the recommendations to help Koa, I feel a lot better about the situation. Hopefully it truly is something he will grow out of, and some of these things will help him in the mean time. Next time something like this happens, I will do the research before I come to any conclusions on my own. :)