Attacks of night terrors in children - causes and the most effective methods of relief

When it happens

Children under three years of age usually sleep so deeply that even if they dream, they do not remember them after waking up.
Therefore, before reaching this age, the child does not have nightmares. If the baby is too overwhelmed with impressions, it may simply be difficult for him to fall asleep. Or, during sleep, the most vivid impressions of the day may emerge, and since the baby’s brain does not distinguish sleep from reality, he wakes up and cries. Children's first night terrors are most often associated with darkness and scary fairy-tale characters. As it develops, a child's wild imagination fills in the missing parts, for example, to the shadow falling from the chair standing near the crib. And now a huge, scary monster crawls out from under him, ready to grab the baby with its furry paw. Well, how can you sleep here!

At the age of 5-7 years, children's fears are more often associated with the process of socialization. At this time, children begin to seek and defend their place in society and the recognition of others is extremely important for them. They may be worried about the thought of performing at a matinee tomorrow, about a quarrel with their first friends, etc. During this period, the conflict with the mother is especially difficult, which must be resolved before going to bed, otherwise the baby thinks that the mother no longer loves him and will never love him again.

At 7-9 years old, many anxious thoughts can be associated with school. In the evening, the child rethinks his day and does not always cope with his emotions, especially if he is very overloaded. Therefore, it is very important not to overlook the moment when the first signs of overwork appear and to plan academic and extracurricular activities taking into account the age and individual characteristics of the child.

Around this same period, the child begins to realize that life on earth is not eternal and the fear of death awakens. He may be afraid of not waking up in the morning or the sudden death of his parents and that he will be left all alone. Recognizing this fear is often difficult because children are reluctant to talk about it.

In fact, it is normal that some children’s fears are replaced by others as they grow older - this is how the main stages of development of the baby’s psyche proceed. But many parents are interested in the question of how soon the child’s period of fear will end. Everything is very individual and it is difficult to give a definite answer.

If you respond correctly to them, then for most children, night terrors end by the age of 9-10, and then the child can sleep peacefully in a separate room all night.

But sometimes this period drags on, and night fears accompany the child up to 12 years or more, and some of them develop into real phobias. Therefore, there is no need to panic about this problem, but you also cannot completely ignore it.

Fear that occurs in a child at night

Unusual sleep phenomena manifest themselves in different ways. As a rule, their occurrence occurs in the deep phase. Almost all boys and girls suffer from fears. This state is characterized by excessive feelings, a feeling of danger or direct threat arising from ordinary phenomena. From a medical point of view, this phenomenon is considered one of the ways of understanding the world; as one grows older, such disorders correct themselves.

Usually the syndrome lasts for a month. How soon a child’s night terrors end depends a lot on external circumstances and mental state. It is important for others to help the child survive the moments of growing up without consequences.

Attention! Research shows that fear in adulthood is something that lingers in memory and was formed in infancy.

Age periods

In the age category at risk for developing night terrors, young patients predominate, especially those who are going through a period of giving up daytime rest. The body has not yet had time to get used to the changes taking place, and due to prolonged wakefulness, fatigue accumulates. This causes disturbances in the regulation of sleep rhythms. The phenomena are typical for impressionable people during periods of stress or lack of sleep.

Each age has its own experiences and concerns. Babies are frightened by loud and unexpected sounds, new surroundings, sudden movements of adults, and the process of undressing. And those who are older panic because of separation from parents, terrible dreams or trauma. Often night fears in a 5-year-old child are associated with darkness, enclosed spaces, and the fear of being left alone. Therefore, it is better to try not to leave your baby alone until he is five years old.

It is believed that fear reaches its peak at the 5th year of life. Night fears in 7-year-old children are less expressive. A junior schoolchild begins to realize the fragility of his loved ones. Therefore, death is a common cause of his fear. Such feelings arise spontaneously, even if none of the relatives or friends have died.

According to studies, up to 7 years of age, biological anxieties appear that are based on the instinct of self-preservation - fear of animals, doctors, thunderstorms, heights. After seven years and before puberty, the problem is different. The personality develops and its worries are caused by events happening around it: pain, parental punishment, attack, loneliness. Teenagers move into the world of adults, so they are afraid of social and biological difficulties: failure, the inability to achieve self-realization, the structure of their own body. A change in the form of fear is a sign of a new way of thinking and psychological status.

Manifestations of childhood fear

The frequency of attacks covers a period from one year to 8 years. This condition is characterized by sudden awakening from one's own crying or body movements. In this case, the following phenomena are observed:

1. Rapid breathing and rapid heart rhythms.
2. Increased sweating.
3. Pupils are dilated.
4. Random screaming, crying.
5. Shiver.
6. Redness of the skin.
7. Lack of any reaction to others.
8. Physical activity, often aggressive (hitting, scratching).

Such actions are explained by severe fear. The mother's attempts to wake up and calm the child often aggravate the situation. At the end of the attack, he cannot intelligibly explain his behavior.

Predisposing factors

Researchers believe that the main reason for the appearance of fear is an unstable psyche. Therefore, emotional struggles are often the precursors to attacks at night. So “terrible” episodes arise against the background of the following factors:

1. Inspired dangers.
2. Stressful situations.
3. Pleasing fantasies.
4. Conflicts in the family.
5. Constant bans.
6. Living conditions.
7. Threats and aggression from loved ones and peers.
8. A sharp change in daily routine.
9. Lack of sleep.
10. Overwork.
11. Neurosis.

It is extremely rare that the cause of these events is elevated temperature or taking medications that affect brain activity. It is natural to feel anxious when danger threatens, but in children this phenomenon can occur without reason. Regardless of what caused the problem, the expression of emotions and behavior will be different for everyone.

Symptoms of fears

It is very important to understand that various fears and nightmares in children are not the same thing. Recurring nightmares can trigger fear of sleep, but they are of a completely different nature and require a different approach to solving the problem. And these two states manifest themselves in completely different ways.

Night terrors directly affect the process of falling asleep:

• the child categorically refuses to go to bed;
• he asks not to turn off the light or leave him alone in the room;
• even in the presence of his mother he cannot fall asleep for a long time;
• The baby, already almost asleep, suddenly awakens abruptly and begins to cry.

With night terrors, even the first stage of sleep is very restless, the child turns around in bed and can suddenly get up. It seems that something is preventing him from switching off and completely relaxing. In fact, that's how it is. But when the baby already falls asleep, he can sleep peacefully until the morning.

With severe mental overload, night terrors manifest themselves as frightening dreams in the deep sleep stage and are very similar to a nightmare from which a child cannot wake up.

The attack usually occurs 1.5-3 hours after falling asleep. It manifests itself in a rapid heartbeat, the child breathes quickly and intermittently, instantly becomes wet with cold sweat, may open his eyes or jump out of bed, scream or begin to fight with someone. At the same time, he continues to sleep and it is very difficult to wake him up.

Consequence of night terrors

Horror movies can sometimes have a negative impact on your mental and emotional state. A separate group of children are afraid to go to bed and sleep, fearing that they may encounter horror stories again.

When fears at night are accompanied by somnambulism, the serious consequences include damage, scratches, and wounds, since during this stay the body is not under control. For the most part, such nightmares do not cause serious health consequences.

Ways to overcome fear

It is impossible to openly fight children's fears. And even more so, you cannot shame or punish a child for their manifestations. He is completely sincerely scared, even if the fear is just a figment of his imagination, which is most often the case. You can get rid of the problem only with the help of affection, patience and friendly explanations.

A child should always feel that his mother is on his side, that he will never be denied support and protection. And then he will be able to gather courage and look his own fears in the eye.

The correct response to attacks of childhood fear should be as follows:

1. Find out the reasons. If your baby categorically refuses to go to bed or his own room, calmly find out the reasons. Let the child tell and show what exactly scares him, then you will understand how to deal with it. You may need to rearrange the furniture or tell where the shadows are coming from. Or maybe you read too scary fairy tales to him at night, and at night their heroes come to visit the baby.
2. Follow an evening ritual. It is very important for a child until they reach at least 7 years of age, and for some even longer. Daily repeated pleasant, calm actions relax not only the body, but also the baby’s psyche.
3. Let me talk. If you understand that the past day turned out to be very rich in events and emotions (regardless of whether they are positive or negative), let your child speak out. This will help him unload his psyche, and you will understand whether there is anything left that continues to bother him. But it’s better to do this before the evening ritual.
4. Follow your daily routine. Often fears “turn on” as the body’s reaction to severe fatigue. The overexcited psyche cannot calm down, and the baby begins to literally “daydream.” Falling asleep late also has a bad effect on the child - he should go to bed no later than 21.30.
5. Don't scare the baby! Remember that your child is fast asleep during a night terror attack. A sudden violent awakening will scare him even more! Just take your baby in your arms or provide tactile contact in any other way. He will feel it even through sleep and his fears will end faster.
6. Don't go back to fears. There is no need to tell your child that he screamed and thrashed about in his sleep if he himself does not remember it. Just kindly ask if he slept well and if he dreamed about anything at night. This will make it easier for you to distinguish childhood fears from nightmares.
7. Change your sleep phases. This technique should not be used frequently so as not to provoke permanent sleep disturbances. But sometimes careful awakening of the baby 90 minutes after falling asleep helps prevent an attack of fear. Give him some water or turn him over and let him go back to sleep.

Don’t forget that the conditions for children’s sleep should be as comfortable as possible: soft lighting (many children are afraid to fall asleep in the dark, this is normal!), the absence of sharp and loud sounds, a comfortable bed.

Carefully choose the books that you read to your child before bed - the story must have a good ending.

Consultation for parents “Night fears in children”

Zhanna Shitova

Consultation for parents “Night fears in children”

Nightmares in children are quite common . Every second child aged three to seven years suffers from them But nightmare is different from nightmare. You need to be able to distinguish between those that are completely normal and those that signal the child’s ill health.

The difference between night terrors and nightmares

Periodic night terrors in children are considered normal development. When a child from three to seven years old wakes up, screams, sobs, waves his arms and legs a couple of hours after going to bed, parents do not need to be scared . This is a normal phenomenon, indicating that the baby is growing and going through new stages of mental development. Such alarming awakenings with tears and screaming are due to the specifics of the developing brain and psyche as its function.

It is interesting that, due to the different structure of the male and female brains, boys experience night terrors more often than girls. But by about the age of twelve, such attacks stop in both boys and girls.

Fears differ from nightmares that the child in the morning does not remember that he cried at night. Children remember nightmares, they can tell their terrible dream and what reaction it caused. Nightmares always have a plot. Most often they dream of:

• chase

• punishments

• danger

• suffering

• death

Another difference between nightmares and fears is that they occur more often in the second half of the night, closer to dawn.

Causes of nightmares

The causes of nightmares and fears in children can be different:

• lack of daytime sleep

• noise and too bright light near a sleeping child

• insufficient play activity during the day

• impressionability as a child’s character trait

• stress, nervous overload

• frequent perception of negative information from the media, the Internet, and other sources

• illness or pain,

• psychological trauma,

• lack of maternal love and affection

• unfavorable psychological climate in the family

Although it is believed that nightmares will go away on their own with age, this problem should not be left to chance. First of all, you need to try to find out and eliminate the cause of your beloved child’s night restlessness. Many parents are able to do this perfectly well without outside help, but sometimes help is extremely necessary.

It is necessary to seek psychological and medical help if:

• the child wakes up from nightmares more than once a week

• nightmares , attacks of fear and panic intensify over time

• fear lasts more than 45 minutes

• the child walks in his sleep (thus exposing himself to additional danger)

• night fears continue to worry the child during the day, affecting his activity

• the child urinates out of fear , has increased salivation, choking attacks, nervous tics with rolling eyes, twitching of the head and shoulders, loss of consciousness or other alarming signals.

Preventing Nightmares

In order to prevent and prevent nightmares, it is necessary :

1. Maintain a favorable psychological climate in the family. If conflicts arise, resolve them calmly and quietly among yourself, so that the child does not see or hear. Scold the child as little as possible, find a common language with him, without resorting to raised voices and physical punishment.

2. Do not overload your child with activities, various clubs and sections. A child should have a childhood! He should play games that he likes, just communicate with his parents and other children . Before going to bed, be sure to avoid active mental exercises and physical activity.

3. Adjust your sleep, rest and wakefulness patterns, as well as nutrition. The baby should sleep not only at night, but also during the day. Problems with nightmares and fears often begin precisely after the abolition of daytime sleep. If the child himself refuses to sleep during the day, you need to teach him to go to bed earlier in the evening. Overeating at night can also cause nightmares. Sometimes a nightmare is provoked by a baby’s overfilled bladder or intestines.

4. Start a tradition of having a heart-to-heart conversation with your child. "How are you doing? How was your day?"

– by asking these simple questions, you can not only prevent, but also find out the causes of
nightmares and worries. The child must speak out, even in his own “childish”
language.
Having told him what tormented him during the day, what worried him, what event alarmed him, it will be easier for him to accept it, survive it, and adapt. Kind and supportive words from mom and dad will help you calm down and not worry in vain. Support and understanding of parents is the best prevention of a child’s fears .
5. Comfortable falling asleep. Before going to bed, it’s good for your baby to read good stories and sing lullabies. The child should fall asleep in a room without dangerous or noisy devices. When the baby goes to bed, everyone in the house should whisper, the lights should be dimmed, the TV, computer, and radio should be turned off. The house should be calm and quiet (lullabies can be played very quietly)

.

6. Skin contact. What a child needs most is maternal love, manifested physically! There is no need to skimp on hugs, stroking, rocking, kisses, especially before bed. As a substitute for mom and dad, you can leave his favorite toy in the baby’s crib, which will be a symbolic amulet, the baby’s protector at night.

7. Preventative awakening. Doctors and psychologists give this recommendation to parents when their child has had attacks of nightmares more than once or twice. Half an hour to an hour after the baby has fallen asleep, you need to wake him up quietly and gently, cuddle him a little and put him back to sleep. This awakening will change the specific pattern of sleep cycles that causes nightmares.

Nightmares

The situation looks completely different when the child has frequent nightmares. They usually come in the morning. This is due to the physiological characteristics of the structure of sleep, which is divided into a slow and fast phase, replacing each other several times during the night. Dreams are present only in the rapid phase of sleep, and in the morning the periods of slow-wave sleep are reduced, and the periods of fast sleep are increased.

During a nightmare, the baby always wakes up screaming and sometimes remains very frightened for some time, not realizing that the nightmare has already ended. When waking up in the REM phase of sleep, a person remembers perfectly what he saw. Therefore, the baby can tell exactly what he dreamed if you ask him about it immediately after waking up.

The plots of children's nightmares are usually standard: these are emotionally stressful situations, chases, harsh punishments, a feeling of danger and a threat to life. Some children dream of their own death or the death of their parents and this causes them to awaken in horror. In the dreams of children with a rich imagination, phantasmagoric monsters may be present, trying to drag them into their fairy-tale world.

In the period from 3 to 7 years, almost every second child experiences nightmares about once a week. This is due to the active exploration of the world, in which the baby still does not understand much, so often things that are common for adults seem frightening to him.

From 7 to 12 years old, it is considered normal if nightmares occur no more than 1-2 times a month, since most children’s fears are already over by this age.

More frequent night awakenings from nightmares are already a cause for concern. This may be the first signal that the child’s psyche is overloaded. He receives too much information or a lot of emotional stress. It is necessary to partially relieve the baby and create a calm, favorable atmosphere in the family. If the nightmares still continue, it is better to seek help from a child psychologist.

How to recognize real phobias

Symptoms of such phobias may include the following:

1. The child cannot sleep for a long time. He is afraid of literally everything that surrounds him. This condition is accompanied by crying or, conversely, numbness.
2. Weak and intermittent sleep. The baby initially falls asleep, but after a while wakes up screaming and hysterical. It is almost impossible to calm him down during this period; he does not respond to words and actions. At this moment, his consciousness is only half in reality, he experiences a nightmare and horror, dictated to him by his fears and experiences.
3. Nightmarish dreams. If such a manifestation lasts long enough, then it cannot be ignored.

You should not hope that the phobia will go away on its own or that the child will simply outgrow this period. No, according to experts, fears and anxiety do not go away, but they are actively looking for a way out, in other words, ways of manifestation.

If the problem has not been solved and the child’s emotions are not put in order, then the child’s internal state and calm will be disturbed and worsened. Unresolved problems can result in illness, enuresis, neuroses or depression, loss of appetite, fatigue, decreased activity and irritability - all this can be a consequence of the fear experienced.

The long-term effect of fear on a child’s psyche can be compared to infection by a pathogenic bacterium, which, once it enters the body, will not leave it on its own, but will cause a number of disorders. Likewise, phobias transform and disturb the peace of a little person, causing negative feelings and emotions, while they can influence the formation of character not for the better.

How to get rid of nightmares

To cope with a nightmare, you need to know what exactly triggered it. Often this becomes clear based on the plot of a frightening dream. But it’s better to talk about night visions only in the morning, in the light of day. At night, the main thing is to calm the child down as soon as possible so that he can fall asleep again.

Here's what's best to do:

• Provide protection. Even if you are very frightened by such an awakening of the child, do not show your fear under any circumstances - the baby will perceive this as the fact that you are unable to protect him and are also afraid. Sit next to him, take him in your arms, caress him, talk in a calm voice.
• Let me talk. If your child wants to talk about what scared him right now, let him do it. Unexpressed fears go into the subconscious and provoke new nightmares.
• Bring back to reality. Help your child realize that it was just a dream. Draw his attention to the details of the situation in the room, to the fact that everything is normal and as usual going on as usual. If necessary, turn on the light and/or carry your baby in your arms.
• Don't leave alone. Let your baby fall asleep in your presence. If he is already used to sleeping alone, do not take him back to your bed. But stay close or let him fall asleep in your arms (not always!).
• Switch your attention. Monotonous, quiet sounds help him do this perfectly - sing him a lullaby, turn on meditative music very quietly, whisper something in his ear.

If the nightmare was an isolated situation, and the child does not remember about it in the morning, and calmly goes to bed in the evening, then there is no point in returning to it. But it is imperative to get rid of recurring nightmares - on your own or with the help of a child psychologist.

Such a simple and effective method as joint drawing can help with this. Ask your child to draw a dream plot that scared him, ask about who or what is shown in the picture. And then finish drawing it together so that the plot or monster turns out funny or small. Or simply tear the piece of paper into small pieces, emphasizing that you have transferred everything onto paper and now destroyed it.

For those who have difficulty drawing, there is another, no less effective technique. Compose a fairy tale with your child about how the main character was chased by a similar monster, or he was in a nightmare-like situation and got out of there safely. Then the baby will believe that everything will end well in his scary fairy tale, too.

What to do if your child has night terrors

You should tell your pediatrician about sleep problems, who can schedule an appointment with a neurologist and additional tests, for example, an EEG during sleep.

Deficiencies of DHA and magnesium acids can contribute to the occurrence of sleep disorders. Problems are much more likely to occur in children with breathing problems such as asthma, reflux disease, tonsil hypertrophy and sensitive children - strong emotions or fears can intensify attacks of night terrors .

A child needs, first of all, his parents’ patience and time. Night terrors should subside over time. During attacks, parents should ensure that the baby does not hurt himself, for example, does not fall out of bed. You can also try waking your child up and then putting him back to sleep.

Is there any way to prevent such episodes?

Maybe. Episodes of night terrors and waking up confused are more common in children who get little sleep and in children with a high fever. Hence, make sure your baby gets enough sleep. To do this, it is useful to maintain a certain sleep and wakefulness schedule. Children under 6 years of age should sleep 10-12 hours every night. Children over 6 years old should sleep 8-10 hours every night.

If your child has trouble falling asleep or sleeps restlessly, it will be useful

• put him to bed in the evening and wake him up in the morning at the same time (both weekdays and weekends),
• develop a certain ritual before going to bed,
• make the last hour before bed a “quiet hour”, i.e. avoid active games an hour before bedtime,
• show the child that there are no monsters under the bed or in the closet, etc.,
• discuss with him before bed his dreams about tomorrow,
• create silence and darkness in the room where the child falls asleep; if a child is afraid to fall asleep without light, then leave him only a dim nightlight,
• leave the door to the child's room open,
• remove the TV from the children's room, do not show him scary films and shows.

Source: https://www.uptodate.com/, The Harriet Lane Handbook.