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Terror in the Night
By Carma Haley
Shelley Haggert's daughter was 3 when she started having sleep terrors.
"She would suddenly start screaming after she'd been asleep for a few hours but she wouldn't be awake," says Haggert, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. "Then all of a sudden, she'd just stop screaming, lie down and close her eyes. She never had more than one per night and not every night. The nights when she was particularly tired, she was more likely to have one."
According to Sheldon, occasional occurrences of sleep terrors are very common and do not require intervention of any kind. However, children who have nightly occurrences for one month or more or who have multiple episodes a night should be evaluated by both a pediatrician and a sleep disorder clinic.
"Nightly or multi-nightly occurrences of sleep terrors are not of the norm," says Sheldon. "If a child has consistent, frequent sleep terrors or there is something unusually or atypical about the spells then the child needs to be evaluated. Intervention for sleep terrors usually begins at the pediatrician -- this is where a sleep diary or journal will be beneficial to help identify stressors. The pediatrician can refer the child to a sleep disorder clinic where further evaluations can be completed."
