Sleep Terror Disorder – The Truth About Night Terrors

Sleep terror disorder can be a particularly scary experience, both for the person who is experiencing it and those who see it happening. It is even more particularly disturbing because it happens mostly to children. They may suddenly scream and cry in the middle of the night, and as all this happens they remain asleep. If you have a child that constantly suffers from this sleep terror disorder, it is only understandable that you would want an immediate cure to the situation. While there are some medications that claim to help stop night terrors, there is unfortunately no instant solution to this sleeping disorder.

Furthermore, some of these medications may cause adverse side effects in the future, which may lead to even more serious health problems. A better approach for dealing with sleep terrors is to go through counseling or participate in relaxation courses that help relieve the tension that typically causes this condition.

What Goes on During an Episode

If you have never seen someone going through an episode of sleep terror disorder, the first time can be very frightening. The bouts usually happen about a couple of hours after the child has fallen asleep. During this time, the child will commence crying and screaming, and sometimes the spell even comes with some violent thrashing about in bed. Although it would appear that the child is wide awake as this happens, he is actually very much asleep throughout the whole episode. As soon as the terrors subside, he will calm down and fall asleep once again. Most bouts of sleep terror last for just a minute or two but in the more serious cases, they can continue for up to 30 minutes at a time and may happen several times during the night.

The strange thing about sleep terror disorder is that the child who is suffering from it rarely remembers what happened when they wake up in the morning. No matter how loud the crying or how violent the thrashing may have been, they will have absolutely no recollection of the experience. Fortunately, children who experience sleep terrors eventually grow out of them after some time without needing any special medication or treatment. If you have a child who is currently going through a sleep terror disorder, the best thing that you can do as a parent is to show support and always be there to comfort them each night when the nightmares happen.