“Don’t worry, it will all go away as you grow older” he said when I was so much younger. Nothing changed, I’ve learned to live and accept my night terrors as I grew.
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“Don’t worry, it will all go away as you grow older” he said when I was so much younger. Nothing changed, I’ve learned to live and accept my night terrors as I grew.
My daughter used to have these night terrors between the ages of 5 to 10 years old, until I found there was a pattern to it. I read all about night terrors in children and knew they weren’t doing anything to her, but for the person who watches it happening it is very scary. So, after a few somewhat frequent ones during one very active summer, I discovered that there was a specific pattern to it and that somehow I was disrupting her sleep cycle and triggering the night terrors. They occurred after the following: she would fall asleep after a very long and exhausting day either on the couch, or in the car on our way home from a trip; so I would wake her up to take her to her bed, and once she was in her bed sleeping maybe for 30 minutes or so, she would wake up with a night terror. So, I decided not to wake her up if she fell asleep on a couch or in the car. I would leave her sleeping the whole night on the couch, and in the case of the car, I would carry her from the car to her bed trying very carefully not to wake her up in the slightest. She is 14 now and never have had them anymore. So my suggestion is to take notes of what happens the day of the night terrors, maybe you can find a pattern too. Take note of every detail. I have read from sleep experts that sometimes even sounds can disrupt sleep and trigger them too. Hope this helps.
Difficult dreams and night terrors which is often accompanied with waking in fright can often indicate some sort of traumatic incident that occurred in your life, either recently or even way back when you were a child. I dealt with night terrors. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy often tells us to adopt a role like that of a scientist investigating an issue. Record each dream then see if you can work out any issues that are present in your daily life that could be causing these dreams and the night terrors.
If you don’t remember the dream clearly, tell yourself before you go to bed that you will remember the dream, and have a note pad beside your bed to scribble down memories of the dream as soon as you awaken. I realise this could be difficult if you wake in terror, so sometimes counselling with a therapist can help. They may offer you sleep medication and I don’t particularly endorse taking medication to help you sleep. There are natural remedies that calm you before you go to bed, including herbal supplements like Valerian or Melatonin. Sometimes these are helpful. It also depends on the environment you live in. If you are living in a negative environment, this could also influence dreams and sleep. Is the room that you sleep in comfortable and filled with positive influences. Sometimes changing your room so that it is lighter can help; a positive wall hanging, or a pot plant, or even aromatherapy candles can influence your dreams and sleep more positively.
You might take into consideration your lifestyle as well. Do you have a balanced diet, and exercise, and have a good social group of friends. Sometimes this is difficult if you are a loner type of person. But being a loner and introvert is not a bad thing, so if you don’t find support from friends, you could watch a positive movie or read a positive book before bed, relax yourself and even have comfort foods. I’m a believer that foods can influence your dreams as well. If you’re not worried about putting on weight, comfort foods like pumpkin soup, or warm milk can calm you. A positive waking life often leads to a positive sleeping and dreaming life.