All aboard for dreamland! | Child Safety Articles | 4akid

All aboard for dreamland!

We all know the childhood tale of the Sandman who comes to sprinkle magic dust in children’s eyes to settle little sleepy heads. If only it were so easy!

Like adults, children’s sleep patterns can be influenced by a variety of things such as diet, activity levels and the events of the day. Because their emotional sides are very sensitive they may also experience dreams which are much more vivid than those of adults. Furthermore, the distinction between fact and fantasy is more blurred for young children and this can make it difficult to understand that dreams are not ‘real’. As a result, some nights can be quite hectic for little ones and their parents!

Nightmares are a normal part of childhood and if they are infrequent or occur during understandably distressing life events – they are generally not something to be concerned about. Most children grow out of their nightmares, however, if any of the following apply to your child you may consider consulting your health care practitioner or psychologist:

• If the nightmares seem to be getting worse or happening more often;
• If night time fears start to interfere with daytime activities and regularly disrupt sleep patterns;
• If the nightmares persist 6 months after a traumatic experience and occur with other post-traumatic stress symptoms;
• If your child seems increasingly anxious at all times;
• If your child shows any signs of jerking, stiffening or drooling. This may indicate a seizure rather than a nightmare;
• If you feel that excessive family stress may be a factor;
• If you have any other fears, questions or concerns about your child’s nightmares.

Nightmares (especially very traumatic ones) are sometimes confused with night terrors. While they are in fact very similar, they do have distinct differences. Nightmares occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep (also known as dream sleep) which is more common towards the later part of the night or early hours of the morning. This differs from night terrors which occur during slow wave sleep or deep sleep. This deep sleep state tends to take place about 90 minutes into sleep and so night terrors generally occur in the early hours of the night.

Another difference is that a child having a nightmare will often wake up and have a memory of the bad dream. Children waking from a nightmare may be able to tell you vivid details of what had scared them and may even be too scared to go back to sleep or go to bed the following night. On the other hand, a child having a night terror is generally only aware of the panic and feelings of fear and very little else. The fear is usually not accompanied by a feared situation or object (as in a nightmare) because it occurs during a dream-less state, and once the child goes back to sleep, he or she often doesn’t remember anything the next morning. Thrashing movements and screaming is fairly common during a night terror, while markedly uncommon during a nightmare.

The Natural Way
There is much that can be done to support healthy sleep patterns, sweet dreams and peaceful nights in children.

• Make sure you follow a consistent night time routine and avoid rich, heavy meals or foods high in sugar or stimulants at night.
• Keep the bedroom calm and peaceful with no rough and tumble games or dramatic frightening TV programs to disturb your child’s emotional equilibrium. Research has shown that children who watch scary movies at night are prone to nightmares.
• Rather read a sleepy bedtime story before tucking your little angel up in bed – it will benefit both a peaceful night as well as provide an excellent bonding experience for parent and child (and who knows, you may also get to fall asleep naturally!)

Michele Carelse M.A. (Clinical Psychology)