Sleep is one of the great mysteries for science even today, and much is unknown about this mysterious process that turns out to be fundamental for the health of all people, both physically, mentally and even emotionally.
One of the most frightening things that can be experienced related to the sleep process are night terrors, and these are overwhelming episodes that feel very real and present as very unpleasant experiences.
Its appearance is very common in children between 3 and 6 years of age, but they can occur even up to 12 years of age. They are not usually frequent in adulthood, but when they appear they are usually quite worrying, as they can be (although not always) indicative of mental or emotional problems.
What are night terrors?
Night terrors are unpleasant and unwanted experiences that occur during sleep and are considered a parasomnia (a type of sleep disorder). These types of experiences occur in the deepest sleep phase and can cause great discomfort in those who experience it.
It is a relatively common disorder in young children who, as they grow, stop experiencing it, being extremely rare during adolescence and even more so during adulthood.
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It is a sudden interruption of sleep and is experienced in a similar way to a nightmare but with much more intensity, which causes the child to wake up very upset with episodes of screaming and crying. We can notice these symptoms even while they are sleeping, when they seem upset, moving a lot and upset.
Upon waking up, it is very common for the child to appear very confused and even still terrified, and this can be very worrying for parents. Normally the next day children do not remember anything of what happened.
This is usually a cause for alarm for many parents, but if your child experiences it, do not worry, it is more common than you think and it does not represent any danger for your child nor is it a sign that something is wrong with him. It is just a stage that some of the children experience at some point in life.
Causes of night terrors
There is no single cause to determine the presence of sleep terrors, but it can be said that it is an overexcitation of the central nervous system (CNS) that occurs during the sleep stage and that can be due to various causes.
They usually occur in a period between 2 or 3 hours after falling asleep, when the child is in the deepest stage of sleep. But it is important to keep in mind that they do not occur in all cases, so we must pay attention to other factors that can generate these reactions such as:
- Short or poor quality sleep (constant interruptions due to sounds, lighting, temperature, etc.)
- High levels of stress or fatigue.
- Some medications.
- Respiratory disorders (sleep apnea, asthma, etc.)
- Emotional disorders such as depression or anxiety.
- febrile states.
- Changes in sleep location or routine.
- Restless Leg Syndrome.
- Caffeine consumption.
Treatment of night terrors
Generally, night terrors disappear on their own and do not require any type of treatment, only parental support for the child at the time they occur.
But in some cases, when these episodes cause great discomfort, especially to the family, some measures can be implemented to give them a little peace of mind and security, even more so in cases in which injuries have occurred as a result of night terrors.
To determine a treatment, an evaluation by qualified medical personnel is necessary to rule out possible physical conditions that have not yet been diagnosed, with sleep apnea being quite frequently responsible for these night terrors when it comes to medical explanations.
Likewise, you should be evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist to rule out the presence of mood disorders that could be affecting the quality of sleep. Depression, anxiety and high levels of stress must be ruled out. Cognitive behavioral therapy is very effective in these cases.
One of the most frequent treatments used is early awakening which, as its name indicates, requires waking the child a few minutes before this happens.
This is easy to determine because sleep, being cyclical, normally presents these terrors at the same times. To do this, it will be enough to wake him up before that time and make him stay awake for just a few minutes and then he can go back to sleep.
Lastly and very rarely, mainly in the case of children, medications such as antidepressants can be used that can help reduce symptoms.
References:
- American Psychiatric Association. (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid: Panamericana.
- Belloch, A., Sandín, B. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual of Psychopathology. Volume I and II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.