Nightmares and Night Terrors... whats the difference?

During the course of a night's sleep, your child will go through different stages of sleep. Initially they will fall into a deep sleep, often referred to as NREM (non-rapid eye movement). NREM sleep consists of four stages. Stages one and two is where the body shifts from drowsiness into sleep, and in stages three and four, delta waves increase, signalling a deeper sleep (or slow wave sleep), where the body relaxes its muscles, lowers body temperature and decreases the rate of respiration. Also note that the growth hormone increases during NREM sleep. It is during NREM sleep your child may experience night terrors, usually one to two hours after falling asleep. If your child is experiencing night terrors, they may appear awake but they are not. They might start walking around and appear anxious or confused. If this happens with your child, it is recommended that you stay with your child but do not try to wake them. Instead guide them back to bed and stay with them until they appear calm and sleepy. In the morning they usually wont remember the night terror.

What you can do to help:

• talk to your child about any problems, issues or worries they may have

• keep a regular bedtime ritual

• make sure they don't go to bed too late (keep a reasonable bedtime)

• a massage whilst they are lying on their bed before sleep to calm their body and mind

• if the night terrors continue, seek advice from your G.P.

• avoid chocolate and sugary foods prior to bed

• use a night light if it helps to relax your child (on a dim setting)

Non REM and REM sleep occurs approximately every 90 minutes, in a cyclical pattern. As the night progresses, your child will spend less time in non REM (deep) sleep and more time in REM (active) sleep.

Nightmares, on the other hand, occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. They are usually frightening dreams that your child will wake to. REM sleep accounts for approximately two hours sleep per night (or 25% of the time your child is asleep). Nightmares are quite common in young children. About one quarter of children have at least one nightmare every week. Talk to your child about any worries they may have. Sometimes for the younger children, getting them to draw their nightmare will help. It is important to remember that children experience stress too and that this may be impacting on their sleep. Follow the above points on what you can do to help your child if they experience a nightmare.

Has your child experienced a night terror or nightmare? What are some ways that you have helped your child?

References:

Australian Family magazine, winter 2011 "Night Nasties" by Gill Canning, p 10-12

Burton et al Psychology, 2nd ed. 2009. p 190-192

Rosenzweig et al Biological Psychology, 1996. p 502-504