YOUR CHILD’S HEALTH: NIGHTMARES
Nightmares occur during changes in the sleep cycle, and are included in the group of conditions known as the ‘arousal disorders’. They are the same as the bad dreams and nightmares that adults have. The child may wake suddenly during the night, frightened and distressed, and will often cry out for the parents. The child will be awake, often crying, and will usually be able to tell the parents that he had a bad dream, even though the content may not always be recalled.
Nightmares are related to real or imagined things in the child’s daily life, such as stress or anxiety about school or friends or families, or may be the aftermath of a frightening movie or news item. No matter how bizarre the nightmare, the fears are very real to the child. In reassuring the child, do not simply dismiss the episode as just a bad dream, but address the issues that the child raises and respond to the fear.
After reassurance the child is usually able to go back to sleep readily. Nightmares are common and normal, and in most instances no special intervention is required. As children grow older, they are better able to cope with bad dreams.
Night terrors, while part of the spectrum of arousal disorders, are quite different from nightmares. The child wakes in the middle of the night literally in terror. He will be sweaty, breathing rapidly, with his heart racing and eyes bulging — in a state of panic. There may have been a scream which alerted the parents in the first place. The child is usually inconsolable, and may not even be aware of the parents’ presence. After a few minutes the child goes back to sleep, and will generally have no recollection of the episode the next morning.
Night terrors are frightening for parents as well as for the children. They last only a few minutes, have no long-term consequences, and they usually resolve spontaneously over time. If they are very frequent and cause major family disruption, they can usually be successfully treated with small doses of medications but this is rarely necessary. In older children meditation or relaxation exercises have been suggested, but there is little evidence about their effectiveness although they can do no harm.
*166\90\8*
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.