eMedicine Specialties > Pediatrics: Developmental and Behavioral > Medical Topics

Sleep Disorder: Night Terrors: Follow-up

Author: Kevin P Connelly, DO, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Emergency Care, Virginia Commonwealth University; Medical Director, Paws for Health Pet Visitation Program
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Feb 25, 2008

Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

  • Frequent contact with the family to provide support and reassurance helps alleviate their anxieties.

Prognosis

  • Episodes usually are short-lived but occur over several weeks.
  • Nearly all children outgrow night terrors by adolescence.

Patient Education

  • Instruct parents to make the child's room a safe environment and to provide barriers that prevent the child from impulsively leaving the room in environments that could lead to injury.
  • Examine the adequacy of the child's sleep, and educate parents about consistent bedtime routines.
  • Eliminating all potential sources of sleep disturbance and maintaining a consistent wake-up time are also important.
  • For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicine's Sleep Disorders Center. Also, see eMedicine's patient education articles Night Terrors, Disorders That Disrupt Sleep (Parasomnias), and REM Sleep Behavior Disorder.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Failure to obtain an adequate history may lead to an incorrect diagnosis and unnecessary testing.
  • Failure to educate the parents adequately about the benign nature of the problem and its final outcome may cause excessive parental anxiety that could prompt parents to search for an alternative cure.
 


More on Sleep Disorder: Night Terrors

Overview: Sleep Disorder: Night Terrors
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Sleep Disorder: Night Terrors
Treatment & Medication: Sleep Disorder: Night Terrors
Follow-up: Sleep Disorder: Night Terrors
References
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References

  1. DiMario FJ Jr, Emery ES 3d. The natural history of night terrors. Clin Pediatr (Phila). Oct 1987;26(10):505-11. [Medline].

  2. Dahl RE. The pharmacologic treatment of sleep disorders. Psychiatr Clin North Am. Mar 1992;15(1):161-78. [Medline].

  3. Guilleminault C, Palombini L, Pelayo R, Chervin RD. Sleepwalking and sleep terrors in prepubertal children: what triggers them?. Pediatrics. Jan 2003;111(1):e17-25. [Medline].

  4. Pesikoff RB, Davis PC. Treatment of pavor nocturnus and somnambulism in children. Am J Psychiatry. Dec 1971;128(6):778-81. [Medline].

  5. Siegel JM. Why we sleep. Sci Am. Nov 2003;289(5):92-7. [Medline].

  6. Wise MS. Parasomnias in children. Pediatr Ann. Jul 1997;26(7):427-33. [Medline].

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Further Reading

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Keywords

night terrors, night-terrors, sleep terrors, night frights, parasomnia, pavor nocturnus, autonomic arousal, sleep disruption, rapid eye movement, REM, nonrapid eye movement, non-REM, tachycardia, diaphoresis, disrupted sleep pattern, night terror disorder, sleep deprivation

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Kevin P Connelly, DO, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Emergency Care, Virginia Commonwealth University; Medical Director, Paws for Health Pet Visitation Program
Kevin P Connelly, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, and American Osteopathic Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Chet Johnson, MD, Medical Director, Child Development Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center
Chet Johnson, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Mary L Windle, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine.com, Inc
Disclosure: Pfizer Inc Stock Investment from broker recommendation; Avanir Pharma Stock Investment from broker recommendation

CME Editor

Carrie Sylvester, MD, MPH, Director of Education in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Northwestern University Medical School
Carrie Sylvester, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Women's Association, American Psychiatric Association, and American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Caroly Pataki, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Division Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Director of Training, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Program, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
Caroly Pataki, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York Academy of Sciences, and Physicians for Social Responsibility
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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