Nightmares and Sleep Terrors

Nightmares and Sleep Terrors

We may spend one-third of our lives sleeping, but it's not always time well spent. Sometimes our imaginations take us to the wrong side of the railroad tracks in dreamland.

Nightmares are perhaps the most common form of sleep disturbance. "Probably 75 percent of people can remember at least one nightmare from their childhood," says Gary Zammit, Ph.D., director of the Sleep Disorders Institute at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. "Nightmares are distinctively frightening experiences that may be a reflection of significant psychological stress or may mean absolutely nothing." They tend to occur toward the end of sleep, usually an hour or two before awakening.

Sleep terrors are different from nightmares because technically they aren't bad dreams; rather, they're "scary images" that tend to occur a few hours after going to sleep. Most common in children under age 12, sleep terrors can be associated with stress, sleep deprivation, fever and some medications.

"The child wakes up in sheer terror and can't remember what caused so much fear," says Dr. Zammit. "It's even more frustrating the following morning, when the child remembers waking up scared but does not recall what scared him." A child might say "The bad man was going to get me," but his description is vague.

While both nightmares and sleep terrors may scare you as much as junior, they're a normal part of childhood--or even maturity. "As long as the nightmares or sleep terrors don't interfere with your or your child's daytime activities, you shouldn't be too concerned," says Peter Hauri, Ph.D., co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Rochester, Minnesota. "Mostly, the best thing you can do is endure it and be supportive of your child."

Well, maybe. But when kids are in distress, parents naturally want to help out. So here are several ways to take at least some of the fright out of your child's night.

"Play" it out. If your child is unable to express what he's feeling, use creative play to help him "say" what's bothering him. "Having the child draw a picture or play with figures that represent different situations or family members can reveal a lot about how that child is feeling," says Dr. Zammit.

Encourage enough sleep. "Being over tired is one cause of sleep terrors, and putting the child to bed earlier is one way to remedy them," says Marc Weissbluth, M.D., author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and director of the Children's Memorial Hospital Sleep Disorders Center in Chicago.

Control allergies. Allergies also impair sleep quality and therefore can cause sleep terrors, says Dr. Weissbluth. "It's likely that your child has allergies if he or she snores, sleepwalks, sleeptalks or wets the bed."

Don't be Perry Mason. "When a child wakes up terrified, it's important for parents to be comforting and soothing. They should avoid long and detailed questioning about the dream or telling the child what it may have meant," advises Dr. Zammit. "Whatever discussions are needed should be handled the following day and should be brief."

Secure the area! One way to help children deal with frequent nightmares is to show them that their sleeping environment is a secure one, suggests Dr. Zammit. "You might want to 'check the room' with the light on, looking in the closet and under the bed. Then turn the light off and talk about the shadows and what's causing them, to reassure your child."

Provide a bell. Another strategy that has been used to help soothe a frightened child is to give him a "special" small bell to ring to scare away monsters. According to Dr. Zammit, this gives the child some control over his anxiety. Of course, the ringing bell also tells parents how often the child is waking up, because of "monsters" or other frightening images.