“What causes night terrors in children?”
My son has been waking up with night terrors in the middle of the night, and he is just 6 years old. What could be the reason for this? Is it common for children?
1 Answer
On this forum I can only provide a general educational statement about night terrors and nothing specific regarding your son.
Night terrors occur in some children. And usually go away without harming them. There are some triggers to avoid: sleep deprivation is one. So if a child is not getting enough sleep and is prone to having night terrors, they can get them. Other things- like stress and other sleep disorders -may trigger them too.
Nightmares are very different and typically occur at the latter part of the night- children can usually recall that experience/dreaming. Night terrors, on the other hand, typically appear in the first part of the night from a deeper state of sleep and children typically do not remember these events. If there is anything atypical that doesn’t seem right and does not “fit the box” so to speak, a next step is typically seeking advice from your pediatrician to be certain night terrors are the correct diagnosis and not anything else.
hope this helps
Night terrors occur in some children. And usually go away without harming them. There are some triggers to avoid: sleep deprivation is one. So if a child is not getting enough sleep and is prone to having night terrors, they can get them. Other things- like stress and other sleep disorders -may trigger them too.
Nightmares are very different and typically occur at the latter part of the night- children can usually recall that experience/dreaming. Night terrors, on the other hand, typically appear in the first part of the night from a deeper state of sleep and children typically do not remember these events. If there is anything atypical that doesn’t seem right and does not “fit the box” so to speak, a next step is typically seeking advice from your pediatrician to be certain night terrors are the correct diagnosis and not anything else.
hope this helps
