Symptoms of Night Terrors
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Does your child have night terrors or nightmares? Do you know the difference? Most parents who deal with night terrors know that they are not dealing with just your average every day nightmare! Night terrors are intense and they are different than nightmares in that the child often seems to look right through their family members, may not recognize them, and will remain terrified even in the presence of their family.
Because only 1% of the population experiences night terrors a lot of parents begin to worry when they describe the symptoms their child is experiencing to other parents. Looking for comfort and support they may find that they are met with wide eyes and worried expressions.
The symptoms of night terrors vary from child to child and may vary in intensity from night to night. Some of the more common symptoms include:
- ∙ Crying
- ∙ Intense fear
- ∙ Screaming in fear
- ∙ Difficulty waking up the child
- ∙ Running or walking in a state of terror
- ∙ Increased heart rate
- ∙ Increased respiratory rate
- ∙ Sweating
- ∙ No memory of the episode
Night terrors are difficult for parents to handle because the child is not fully aware of what is going on around them. They may be screaming and feel terrified of everything going on around them, but try as they may, their parents may not be able to calm their child. The child will usually not talk, and if they do, it makes no sense to those trying to understand. Though the eyes may appear open, the child will appear unresponsive to stimuli and will usually not acknowledge the parent’s presence.
Many children will sit up in bed, scream, and run. When this happens children may harm themselves because they may not actually be seeing what is in front of them. Children and adults have been know, when having night terrors, to run through windows, knock over furniture, and cause harm to themselves and others.
Many parents who don’t understand night terrors become frustrated because they will try to talk to their child about the “dream” the next day and the child will have no memory of any of the incidents that followed the awakening of the parents. Night terrors can last anywhere from a minute or two to 30 or even 90 minutes depending on the child. Regardless of how long the episode lasts, the child will usually have very little to no memory unless they have been completely awakened, and even then there may only be snippets of the night that they remember.
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