I had no idea of the difference untill searching the web for what to do?
What are night terrors?
Night terrors occur in at least 5 percent of young children, and can start as early as 9 months. These mysterious disturbances happen during deep, non-dreaming sleep. A child in this state will cry, whimper, flail, and even bolt out of bed. Though his eyes may be wide open, he's not awake and isn't aware of your presence. Once the night terror (which can last anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour or more) is over, your child will return to a sound sleep and have no memory of the incident in the morning.
How are night terrors different from nightmares?
Nightmares happen during rapid eye movement (REM) or dream sleep. A child who's had a nightmare is likely to have a fairly clear idea of what scared him, though he probably won't be able to articulate his fright until he's about 2. He may also be afraid to fall back asleep, and in the morning, he'll probably remember that he had a bad dream.
We have watched my happy little Ava have nightmares since soon after she was born..but this past weekend she experienced night terrors and we just don't know what to do they have continued every night and I personally just cry at the sight..she screams her head off (and rarely cries on a normal basis)...these are horrifying no mother wants to hear her child screaming in fright...and she kicks uncontrollably at us trying to comfort her. Donny usually has to take her to sprits some water on her face to even wake her up yet her eyes may have been open the whole time. Very scary! Any suggestions?
1 comment:
I totally know what you mean...my neice has been going through something similar, but her breathing becomes out of rhythm and she jerks to one side when she does this...talk about SCARY?? The dr. just told them to comfort her, but I know that is hard because it seems like nothing can comfort them when they are doing that. Sorry you're going through this! Pray!
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