Sounds like night terrors, something my daughter has had for the past 2 years, and I am sorry to report, it won't go away for a long time. There is no treatment, although not eating a heavy meal before bed helps, and some natural herbs such as St. Johns Wort may help. I don't want to give my daughter pills at such a young age, so I am holding off on those, but I felt I should mention it in case you are at your wits' end. The subject sits up in bed and screams, appearing awake but is confused, disoriented, and unresponsive to stimuli; they will hardly ever recall having this episode the night prior. Although the person seems to be awake, they do not seem to be aware of any surrounding presence and usually do not talk. Breathing rapidly, they will sometimes sit up in bed with a wide eyed terror filled stare. My daughter does this and at first, I was terrified until I mentioned it to her father and he immediately knew what it was as he used to have them too. Also, the person may thrash around in bed and does not respond to comforting by others. A person's heart rate can escalate during the terror, along with sweating and harsh breathing. Kids between 2 and 6 usually are the most prone, and 15% of children suffer from them. Several things can trigger night terrors, from instability in a child's life, to changes in their routine to being overtired, having emotional stress or even a fever. Trust me, it's not easy when you're deep into sleep and every 3 hours your daughter wakes up screaming and crying but her eyes are closed as if asleep. People at work wonder why I always look so tired in the morning and act like a zombie, and this is why. By the way, doctors say you should NEVER try to wake up the child or they may be very confused and this could further increase their heart rate and set them in panic. The best thing is to wait until it stops and they go back to sleep, maybe rub their back, but DO NOT try to wake up the child, shake them, or tell them it was just a nightmare. Move objects that can harm them out of the way (such as a sharp-edged nighttable). Since night terrors are most commonly triggered by being overtired, sometimes no treatment is necessary except for a bedtime schedule that ensures proper sleep. Another thing: night terrors are hereditary, so find out if any of your relatives have it. Her father had them until 9, so that's really bad news for me! He used to dream of an alien coming after him and also spiders falling all over him, which is funny because sometimes my daughter will scream "NO SPIDER, NOOO!!!" So I am wondering if she's even dreaming of the same thing he used to dream about as a kid!! There's a good site for learning about night terrors: nightterrors.org. You can also just do a generic google search for night terrors if you're seeking more information, but rest assured: it's something natural and does not require a doctor's visit. Hopefully, she will outgrow it soon or try the things I suggested regarding her sleep schedule, heavy meals, and any other stress she may be facing. Good luck!!
