Sleepwalking and Night Terrors

Do you occasionally find your young child wandering the halls aimlessly or talking to herself hours after she’s fallen asleep for the night? Sleepwalking is very common among children, and most outgrow it by their teenage years. While this can be scary for other family members, sleepwalking is rarely caused by an underlying medical, psychological or physical condition, according to KidsHealth.org. Instead, the website explains, some children are predisposed to sleepwalking, and others can have it brought on by lack of sleep, fatigue, irregular sleep schedules, illness or fever or certain medications. Some children sleepwalk, some talk in their sleep, some will sit up and some even raid the refrigerator and eat, according to SleepFoundation.org. Sleepwalking occurs during the deep stages of REM, every 90-100 minutes. The child will be difficult to arouse during the episode and often will have little to no memory of the event the next day.         

Night terrors often can be mistaken for nightmares but are very different. Nightmares are associated with the dream REM cycle, while night terrors are not technically a dream, but instead a reaction, projected through fear, of transitioning from one sleep phase to another, according to KidsHealth.org. These terrors usually occur two to three hours after a child falls asleep, and the child may sit upright and scream in distress. Their breathing and heart rate may increase, and they act upset and scared. The difference is that after a few minutes the night terror resolves, and the child will calm down and return to sleep as if nothing has happened. Oftentimes children will not recall the event the next day because they were in a deep sleep and have no mental images to recall.

In coping with sleepwalking and night terrors, the most important thing is to keep your child safe.  Experts say that you should try to avoid waking your child when she is experiencing night terrors or sleepwalking, because it could cause her to be confused and potentially remain awake for a longer period of time.  If you simply leave your sleepwalking child asleep, you can try to guide her to lie back down, and she should become restful again relatively quickly. And while waking the sleeping child is not recommended, you may have to do so if she is in a position of danger, such as thrashing around or at risk of falling down the stairs. 

If your family is in the throes of night terrors or sleep walking, try to rest assured that this season will pass, and your child should soon outgrow these episodes. In the meantime, try to remain calm and gently guide your child back to sleep in her bed.           

            Jessica Heine is a labor and delivery nurse. She resides with her family in Olathe.

As always, please consult your health care provider with any questions or concerns.