If your child has Night Terrors

emilykristene2006 · April 2010

I know that a few of you said your child has night terrors. I found this site and thought someone else might find it helpful.

https://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/sleep/terrors.html

Here is a post from the site.

I remember having nightmares and night terrors as a child. I have made my own analysis about it based on my own experiences. I believe that they are caused by the body's panic reaction to not being able to breathe. I realized when I got a little older that they came on when I was starting to go into REM sleep, when breathing becomes heavier and more rhythmic. I found that I needed to lie in bed in a position where I could breathe easily. If my chest was scrunched in anyway or if I had too many things in my bed or if I was sick, I could not breathe well and I would go into a nightmare. I mentioned this to a mom that I work with when she told me her little boy was having night terrors. They cleared off his bed of excess toys and kept his room well aired and it helped a lot. I am not a sleep specialist and this is not scientific, but I thought I would mention it.

Several people on the site also mentioned to put your child's feet in cool water. Having the feet uncovered while your child sleeps helps them not get over heated.

I just uncovered DD's feet and if she wakes up again, I have a bucket of cool water in the bathroom ready to put her feet in. I can see her getting so pissed off!

Please let this help!