Article Review Day 10: Sleep Terrors vs. Nightmares

My oldest daughter has nightmares every once and awhile. She wakes up upset and tells me about the nightmare or "bad dream" as we call them. They are usually about something that she has heard about or seen the day before. I am already very cautious about what my children watch on television, but I am extra cautious about what my daughter watches since she is very sensitive. I am also cautious about the conversations my husband and I have around her and the other kids- I don't want my children to be burdened with undue stress that they don't understand.

Nightmares occur in 25% to 50% of children ages 3 to 6. Both boys and girls struggle with these. "Occasional nightmares are not worrisome, but recurrent nightmares or those with disturbing content may indicate excessive daytime stress. You should gently question children regarding their daytime experiences such as tv shows or encounters with other children to try to determine possible frightening content or situations." After you figure out why your child is having these nightmares you should do whatever you can to "eliminate or reduce the child's exposure" to whatever is causing the nightmares.

I know parents that also struggle with sleep terrors. You may wonder what the difference is? Both are just being scared during sleep, right?

Well, sleep terrors usually begin after 18 months old, where nightmares usually begin between 36 and 72 months old. Sleep terrors usually occur during the first third of the night, where nightmares occur during the last half of the night. Sleep terrors occur during NREM (non-rapid eye movement, stages 1 to 4) and nightmares occur during REM sleep (stage 5). With sleep terrors the child appears extremely agitated- screaming, increased heart rate, and dialated pupils could occur. With nightmares the child is sometimes agitated but to a much lesser extent. The child does not wake up during sleep terrors even though they may seem awake and they don't usually remember in the morning; the child does wake up with a nightmare and can remember details and often still remembers in the morning. The child does return to sleep easily with sleep terrors and it is suggested that you gently guide them back to their bed. The child does not return to sleep easily with nightmares.

"Children with more violent, prolonged, or unusual episodes should be evaluated at a pediatric sleep disorders center. Although sleep terrors are often very disturbing to parents, they can be reassured that sleep terrors are a developmentatl phenomenon and are not a sign of underlying issues."

Please share your experiences with sleep terrors and nightmares.

And another resource from a recent article from the National Sleep Foundation: nightmares