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Q. "My 7-year old son wakes up periodically in the middle of the night. We find him sitting bolt upright, staring straight ahead, and screaming at the top of his lungs. He sounds like he's being viciously attacked. This goes on for a while, during which we try to console him. He goes back to sleep without knowing we were even there. If we decide to awaken him, he appears confused, and doesn't remember his dreams". A. The reason that he cannot remember what he was dreaming about, is that he was not dreaming! What you are describing is a classic case of night terrors. Scientists have studied brain wave (EEG) patterns, and concluded that we go through a series of four stages while falling asleep. We start at stage one and progress through the third and fourth stages. Within about 90 minutes we go into our deepest sleep. What is surprising is that we don't dream during the four stages. If someone awakens during them, the most they can say is that they were "thinking". Following stage four is "rapid eye movement" (REM" sleep. This is a totally different stage, and it is here that we start dreaming. If you were to watch someone, you would see the eyes darting back and forth. Dreams last for 45 minutes or so, and then we go back to non-REM sleep for about an hour. The pattern goes on throughout the night, and the non-REM stages get lighter. That is what the old saying "an hour before midnight is worth two after" pertains to. It is when we dream that we can have nightmares. These are usually Hollywood style productions in full colour that seem very real at the time. Night terrors, on the other hand, occur in stage four sleep. This is also the stage in which sleepwalking and talking occur. The reason they occur is unknown, and most children grow out of them. They may be worse at times of stress. Although very alarming, and most distressing to the rest of the family, night terrors cause no harm to the child himself. Indeed, if you can possibly bear it, the best tactic is to not wake him. As you have said, after a while, he just goes back to sleep by himself. The same also applies to sleepwalking, when the goal is simply to make sure the child is safe in his wanderings, and. that he cannot fall down the stairs or out of a window. Night terrors usually occur in children from 3 to 6 years of age, but sometimes go a little later. They are not an indication of any problem. You would actually be better to get your own rest during these occurrences, difficult as it sounds.
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