Most of the people link night terror with the much more common nightmares. It has been estimated that around 1% to 6% of children experience night terrors, which usually occur during adolescence. There can be a number of reasons for night terrors in children, for instance fever, sleep deprivation, stressful life events or may be some medications that affect the brain. Unlike nightmares, night terrors consist of some of the symptoms like increases heart rate or breathing rate and sweating which are pretty common among the children. Given below are 11 effective ways to handle night terror in children in the best possible ways. Read below:

Night Terror: 11 Tips to Get Your Children to Sleep

A peaceful sleeping environment

You should try to be a sympathetic parent to your child, especially at the time of night terrors. Of course, your child may seem terrified, but it’s your job to reassure him that you are there by his side and he’s absolutely safe. Moreover, try to stay calm yourself, this will make him feel relaxed and he can easily get back to sleep. For a few nights, try to sleep by his side which will comfort him and he will be able to have a healthy sleep.

A peaceful day equals to a restful night

If you feel your child is disturbed by any sort of problem in his school life or anxieties about friends or may be some domestic upsets, it’s your responsibility to take stock of any such issues. One of the best way is to have a direct conversation with your child about the same. Be it emotional, physical or biochemical, all such imbalances are reflected in a child’s night terror.

Make sure your child gets enough sleep

Sleep deprivation is one of the most common causes of  night terrors in children. For this, you can try putting your child to sleep a little earlier than normal. Usually, younger kids require at least 10 hours of sleep each night.

Take a note of your child’s diet

One of the common causes of biochemical sleep disturbance is drinking a lot of caffeinated drinks throughout the day. Thus, you should make sure that your child does not intake a lot of caffeine in his day time, a glass of milk, a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread and a cup of yogurt are some of the foods that you can offer your child as bedtime snack.

An active day

No doubt peaceful days are important but so is being active. Indulging into healthy activities throughout the day releases neurohormones, which contributes in relaxing the body as well as the brain.

A calming before bed ritual

Storytime, a warm bath or a back rub can be some of the before bed rituals you can set for your child. This will make his mind peaceful and devoid of any scary thoughts. Moreover, highly avoid any scary tv shows or computer games in the evening.

Understanding night terrors

Take note of the time during which your child experiences night terror. If the night terror happens at approximately the same time every night, try waking your him or her up 10-15 minutes before the night terror is about to happen in order to see if that happens.

Turn on some tunes

This is one of the best method. You can keep a cd player in your kid’s room and play his/her favourite songs right before going to the bed at a low volume. This will help in shifting your little one’s focus from his/her own thoughts to the music. Make sure you play soothing music at the bed time and save the peppy stuff for the day.

A sleeping partner

Most of the kids have a doll or a stuffed animal as their sleeping partner who they cuddle tightly while sleeping. So, you can bring home a new friend to them, for instance a teddy bear or a brave lion that keeps your child safe while he sleeps.

A positive element

A number of parents make use of scented water that is spritzed around the room. These are often called as ‘monster spray’. On of the major problem with sprays like this is the thought they leave behind i your little one’s mind. So, instead of using the name ‘monster spray’, you should change the name to something that reflects a positive attitude like ‘knight spray’ or ‘fairy spray’ etc.

Light

Some of us can’t even imagine how frightening it can be for a child to sleep in a room that is completely dark, devoid of any light and that with doors closed. For a change, try keeping the door open and turn on a few lights of your kid’s room. This will surely help them to feel a lot better.

I know it can be a lot hard to watch your child going through the night terrors. After all, none of us want to experience any of the symptoms linked with the same. But more relaxed you stay, more better your child will feel. During this time, it is vital for you to show your child that you are there by his/her side.