Does your little one often cry or scream while sleeping? Maybe he is experiencing night terror. This condition does not need Mom and Dad to worry too much, because night terror harmless and can be handled with appropriate means.
Night terror is one of the sleep disorders that generally affects children aged 3-12 years. Night terror different from a bad dream because when it is experienced, your little one will not remember the dream he experienced.
Reason Happens Night Terror on Children
Night terror usually occurs 2-3 hours after the child begins to sleep. While sleeping and experiencing night terror, the child will usually breathe quickly, cry, scream, delirious, look angry, or scared.
In addition, your little one can unconsciously kick things around him or walk from his bed. This can be dangerous.
Night terror usually occurs for approximately 10-30 minutes. After that, the child will return to calm and fall asleep as usual. When you wake up in the morning, your little one will not remember what happened last night. This is what makes the difference night terror with nightmares.
Cause of night terror There are various, one of which is due to overstimulation of the central nervous system during sleep. In addition, factors that can also trigger night terror are fatigue, stress, fever, sleep disturbances suffered, such as sleep apnea, to the influence of certain drugs consumed by children.
Generally night terror will disappear by itself as the child grows up, along with the more mature nervous system.
However, if night terror If it continues to occur or gets worse to interfere with daily sleep, it should not be left unattended.
How to overcome Night Terror on Children
To face night terror experienced by children, parents should remain calm and do not panic. Mom and Dad can help your little one cope night terror by:
1. Don't wake your little one from sleep
Don't wake your little one up when he's experiencing night terror, especially suddenly. the thing is, this can actually make him even more angry. Instead, Mom and Dad can try a more gentle way by hugging or giving a gentle touch, so that he can calm down.
2. Keep an eye on
Night terror the possibility of causing the child to fall out of bed or get out of bed and pick up things that are around him. Therefore, when your little one experiences night terror, Mom and Dad need to keep company or watch over him until he really returns to sleep in peace.
Also make sure not to put dangerous items around the little one's bed.
3. Take medicine
In some severe conditions, night terror may need to be treated with medication. However, before giving medicine to your little one, you must consult with your pediatrician first.
To help reduce the risk of occurrence night terror, make sure the child gets enough rest. Then, help the child deal with the stress he is experiencing and create a comfortable room atmosphere, so that his sleep is of better quality.
Mother and Father can also make a sleep record of the Little One. This record contains hours of sleep and waking hours, activities carried out before bed, sleep disturbances experienced, sleep duration, and how he felt when he woke up. These notes can help parents to identify triggers night terror in children.
Even though it looks worrying, Mom and Dad don't panic about it night terror on the Little One. Take steps to overcome and prevent night terror on.
If this condition becomes more and more disturbing or persists, you should consult a doctor or take advantage of the child psychology consultation service at the hospital so that appropriate treatment can be given.
