HEALTHY FAMILY
No More Nightmares Learn how to keep nightmares at bay and ensure a good night’s sleep for all BY LISA B. SAMALONIS
It is estimated that between 10% and 50% of children between 3 and 5 years old have nightmares severe enough to disturb their parents, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
34 MetroKids MAY 2021
The Stress Factor While the cause of bad dreams is unknown, research indicates they may be associated with particularly stressful situations, such as an accident or a natural disaster, or everyday stressors common to children. Causes can also include life changes, like starting a new school or moving. “Some children can also be affected by scary books, shows or movies, especially close to bedtime. But bad dreams can also happen without an obvious cause and can be considered part of typical development. They may actually be a way for kids to work through stressful feelings,” explains Johanna Carpenter, a pediatric psychologist with Nemours Children’s Health System in Wilmington, Delaware. “Some
research has suggested that bad dreams might even help people to cope with stress and perhaps even feel less fearful about a particular situation.” Although nightmares can happen at any age, they are more prevalent from the preschool period through age 10. Hallmarks of a sleeping child who is having a nightmare include the child seeking comfort and showing signs of being awake, such as making sense when speaking, having their eyes open or responding in a typical way. Because children frequently remember their nightmares, caregivers should comfort and soothe them after one, Carpenter says. She notes that night terrors (or sleep terrors) are a cousin of sleep-walking and are not related to bad dreams. Rather, night terrors are parasomnia, a sleep disorder which includes various non-sleeping behaviors that occur during sleep, with insufficient sleep being a primary cause. As opposed to nightmares, which tend to occur during the last third of the night during REM sleep, night terrors occur during the earlier part of the night during deep non-REM sleep. Nightmare Prevention Carpenter offers the following strategies to help children shake off their bad dreams — or avoid them altogether: • Get good sleep. Children are more likely to have nightmares when they don’t get enough sleep. Healthy sleep habits include a consistent bedtime and wake-up times (on the weekends, too), and a regular bedtime routine that includes calming activities, and ends with the child climbing into bed. • Talk it out. “It’s a good idea to talk about bad dreams the next morning; talking about bad dreams in the light of day can take away some of their
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ate in the night the cries rouse me from a deep sleep. The howling comes from my youngest son’s room. I roll out of bed, trudge down the hallway and open his door. He is sitting up in bed, wide-eyed, tears slipping down his flushed cheeks. I sit on the edge of his bed, gather him into my arms and stroke his damp head. I reassure him and his cries eventually subside, turning into deep sighs. “You’re OK,” I say. “It was just a bad dream and it’s over now.” He nods and snuggles closer. After a few minutes I flip the pillow over to the “good dream side.” He takes his lovies — Pat the Bunny and Bear, one in each hand — and lies down, and I rub his back and say, “You can all go back to sleep now.” My son’s experience with nightmares is common in kids. About 75% of children remember having at least one nightmare during childhood, and it is estimated that between 10% and 50% of children between 3- and 5-years old have nightmares severe enough to disturb their parents, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
