Night Terrors

Night terrors are dreams that are usually not remembered. They tend to begin in the pre-puberty stages. A nervous child is more prone to night terrors. They sometimes Night terrors are nightmares that are usually not remembered. They are inclined to involve sleepwalking, so you must make certain the room is safe.

When a child has a night terror, do not encourage him/her to go immediately back to sleep. This again has to do with REM sleep or a disturbance of somewhat in the sleep patterns. Be sure your child goes to the bathroom and has a water supply by their bed, along with their favorite stuffed animal or whatever makes them feel safe. Also, most importantly, be sure you child is not sick. If appropriate, take their temperature and observe them for signs of illness, such as ear pulling or clearing of throat.

If there is turmoil in the home, this contributes to the child's insecurity and feeling of harm which can precipitate a night terror. Try and maintain a calm and pleasant home atmosphere for the child. Night terrors are not unlike incubus dreams, where a child feels there is a monster on them or after them. Check under their bed and in the closet to reassure the child. Also, use a night light as dark is frightful.

I cannot stress how important it is that you keep your child awake for at least ten minutes before allowing them to go back to sleep. This will reset the sleep cycle and they won't go right back into the night terror.

If possible, read to the child or have a pleasant talk before they go to sleep. Reassure them that you are there and there is nothing that can hurt them. Try your best to set a calm atmosphere with sleep. If the child wants you to stay in the room until they go to sleep...do this. This is not "spoiling" the child, but rather a genuine attempt to end night terrors, which are frightful. If they anticipate these every night, you can imagine how insecure and afraid they might feel. Make them feel safe and secure, and you can end these problems with sleep.

There is also a situation that affects adults, call succubus dreams. This type of sleep disorder usually involves a woman vision having sex with a male. These dreams are also classified as night terrors, and are sometimes remembered upon awakening. Although this type of night terror is rare; it is listed as a sleep disorder, as is sexambulism. With sexambulism, the sleeper has sex with a partner while the sleeper is in a phase of sleep. This is usually remembered by the sleeper. There was a case of rape that was acquitted because the perpetrator claimed sexambulism as his cause of having sex.