30 years
Last night my 1 year old son had a very bad night, he woke up around 12 and he was crying so much. We took his fever, and it was ok and tried to play with him but he just wouldn't stop crying.
Apr 26, 2014
A note: if you're still giving your child a bottle at night, try remove it when he sleeps because drinking milk while sleeping might cause an ear infection.
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It could have been an occasional nightmare, but this usually doesn't take long to resolve. However it might have been a night terror (or sleep terror).
A night terror is a sleep disruption that seems similar to a nightmare, but with a far more dramatic presentation. Though they seem alarming, they're not usually a sign of a more serious medical issue.
Sleep occurs in several stages, each is associated with particular brain activity. Night terrors happen during deep non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep, unlike nightmares (which occur during REM sleep). Night terrors usually occur about 2 or 3 hours after a child falls asleep, when the transaction between from the deepest stage of non-REM sleep to lighter REM sleep (when dreams occur) is not smooth. During a night terror, a child might suddenly sit upright in bed and scream. The child's breathing and heartbeat might be faster, they might sweat, thrash around, and be scared. After some time the child calms down and returns to sleep. No memory of a night terror remains the next day because the child was in deep sleep when it happened — and there are no mental images to recall.
Night terrors are caused by over-arousal of the central nervous system (CNS) during sleep. This may happen because the CNS (which regulates sleep and waking brain activity) is still maturing. Some kids may inherit a tendency for this over-arousal — about 80% who have night terrors have a family member who also experienced them or sleepwalking (a similar type of sleep disturbance).
Night terrors have been noted in kids who are: overtired or ill, stressed, or fatigued; taking a new medication; sleeping in a new environment.
Night terrors are relatively rare — in only 3-6% of kids. They usually occur between the ages of 4 and 12, but have been reported in kids as young as 18 months & are a little more common among boys.
The best way to handle a night terror is to wait it out patiently and make sure the child doesn't get hurt by thrashing.
A night terror is a sleep disruption that seems similar to a nightmare, but with a far more dramatic presentation. Though they seem alarming, they're not usually a sign of a more serious medical issue.
Sleep occurs in several stages, each is associated with particular brain activity. Night terrors happen during deep non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep, unlike nightmares (which occur during REM sleep). Night terrors usually occur about 2 or 3 hours after a child falls asleep, when the transaction between from the deepest stage of non-REM sleep to lighter REM sleep (when dreams occur) is not smooth. During a night terror, a child might suddenly sit upright in bed and scream. The child's breathing and heartbeat might be faster, they might sweat, thrash around, and be scared. After some time the child calms down and returns to sleep. No memory of a night terror remains the next day because the child was in deep sleep when it happened — and there are no mental images to recall.
Night terrors are caused by over-arousal of the central nervous system (CNS) during sleep. This may happen because the CNS (which regulates sleep and waking brain activity) is still maturing. Some kids may inherit a tendency for this over-arousal — about 80% who have night terrors have a family member who also experienced them or sleepwalking (a similar type of sleep disturbance).
Night terrors have been noted in kids who are: overtired or ill, stressed, or fatigued; taking a new medication; sleeping in a new environment.
Night terrors are relatively rare — in only 3-6% of kids. They usually occur between the ages of 4 and 12, but have been reported in kids as young as 18 months & are a little more common among boys.
The best way to handle a night terror is to wait it out patiently and make sure the child doesn't get hurt by thrashing.
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