Abstract
Night terrors are a bizarre sleep disorder that affects young children. The child partially awakes during the night agitated, afraid and terrified, and cannot be consoled. These events, which may be related to emotional turmoil, are self-limiting. Psychiatric evaluation is indicated in certain cases, and drug therapy is almost never necessary. Parents should be reassured that night terrors are not dangerous and do not reflect any serious pathology.
Keywords: Night terrors, sleep disorders, nightmares, children
Full text
PDF

Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- ANTHONY J. An experimental approach to the psychopathology of childhood: sleep disturbances. Br J Med Psychol. 1959;32(1):19–37. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1959.tb00464.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kupfer D. J., Reynolds C. F., 3rd A critical review of sleep and its disorders from a developmental perspective. Psychiatr Dev. 1983 Winter;1(4):367–386. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Popoviciu L., Corfariu O. Efficacy and safety of midazolam in the treatment of night terrors in children. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1983;16 (Suppl 1):97S–102S. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1983.tb02278.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Vela A., Dobladez B., Rubio M. E., Ramos M., Suengas A., Bujan M., Arrigain S. Action of bromazepam on sleep of children with night terrors. I. Sleep organization and heart rate. Pharmatherapeutica. 1982;3(4):247–258. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
