Parenting Advice
Q. "My seven year old boy sometimes awakens screaming in the middle of the night. When we go into his room he is sitting straight up in bed, staring straight ahead. We try to calm him down but he isn't even aware that we are in his room. After a few minutes, he goes back to sleep. If we awaken him, he doesn't even know why we're there, as he remembers nothing about his dream."
A. The reason that he cannot remember what he was dreaming about, is that he was not dreaming! What you are describing is a classic case of night terrors.
Scientists have studied brain wave (EEG) patterns, and concluded that we go through a series of four stages while falling asleep. We start at stage one and progress through the third and fourth stages. Within about 90 minutes we go into our deepest sleep.
What is surprising is that we don't dream during the four stages. If someone awakens during them, the most they can say is that they were "thinking".
As the four stages fade, we fall into a totally different sleep mode known as "rapid eye movement" (REM). This is the time in which we dream. If you could watch someone during REM sleep, you'd see their eyes darting from side to side. Throughout the night we go in and out of REM sleep. We usually dream for approximately 45 minutes before returning to non- REM sleep, which lasts for an hour or so, and then back to a REM sleep state. As the night progresses the non-REM stages become lighter. This explains an old saying, "an hour before midnight is worth two after".
If we have nightmares, they occur while we are dreaming. They can be full blown horror movie experiences and very frightening.
Night terrors, are different as they occur in the fourth stage of sleep. Sleepwalkers and talkers are active during this time as well. No one knows the cause of night terrors, but fortunately most children outgrow them. Sometimes they seem linked to stress.
Although very alarming, and most distressing to the rest of the family, night terrors cause no harm to the child himself. Indeed, if you can possibly bear it, the best tactic is to not wake him. As you have said, after a while, he just goes back to sleep by himself. The same also applies to sleepwalking, when the goal is simply to make sure the child is safe in his wanderings, and. that he cannot fall down the stairs or out of a window.
Night terrors are common in children aged 3 to 6, and may continue even beyond then. They do not indicate that there is anything seriously wrong with your child. Hard though it may be at the time, the best tactic really is to ignore them, and to try to get some sleep yourself.
About the Author
Dr. Noel Swanson is the author of The GOOD CHILD Guide for managing children's behaviors and writes for an excellent parenting website.You can get a unique content version of this article.
