My daughter and I are away at dance camp. Basically, she works her tail off for 8 hours a day dancing and I get to come along to ensure her safety, pay for her meals and....blog. :) Rough hu? Anyhow, are you wondering what in the heck this has to do with cookies? Well......at camp we are in hotel rooms and each mom and daughter share a room with another mom and daughter. Our first night here (which was sleepless, ugh) the other gal sharing our room sits straight up in bed, 1am, and sCrEAmS...."Why'd you make all the chocolate chip cookies!" Well, now I was awake. Not just for a few minutes but the better part of 3 hours. Contemplating. What makes kids talk in their sleep? What causes night terrors and sleep walking?
We have a sleep walker in our house. Over the years I have been able to pin point that he does it when he is sleep deprived, too many late summer nights. I make him pee and he goes right back to sleep. None the wiser in the morning. It's amazing. But this is after many years of my baby waking up, screaming with those glossy eyes or wandering around the house looking for something or for the neighbor boy. Worrying about if I should put an alarm on his bedroom door to make sure I know when he is up. What is it that causes these things and WHEN will he out grow it? Frankly our roommate here is 15 so I REALLY hope he grows out of it by then. Lol.
Turns out that sleep behavior disorder and sleep terrors are two types of sleep disorders that may cause someone to shout out in their sleep. Just as our room mate did. Statistically 1 in 10 children have night terrors and children with night terrors usually sleep talk and/or sleep walk. Well, my son fits that description. Sleep talking may be brought on by stress, depression, fever, sleep deprivation, day-time drowsiness, alcohol, and fever. In many instances sleep talking runs in families, although external factors seem to stimulate the behavior. Sleep talking often occurs at the same time as other sleep disorders such as sleep terrors, confusional arousals, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, and REM sleep behavior disorder.
I found some great information here: http://www.babycenter.com/0_night-terrors_142.bc on night terrors. The unfortunate part for me and you is that there isn't really a treatment for any of these childhood plagues. The good part is that typically there aren't any long term effects or reasons that these things occur. So, hang on for the ride and, "Don't make all the chocolate chip cookie!"
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My sister was quite the sleep walker, but we all (me, hubby and the kids) talk in our sleep. My favorite time was before we were married, hubby to be roomed with my dad and brother while on a trip to southern Utah. In the middle of the night, future hubby sits straight up in bed, yells something in Tongan, and goes back to sleep. Dad and brother were terrified, not knowing if they had just been threatened or blessed or what! Haha. The kids say the funniest stuff in their sleep too. Night terrors can be scary to watch your baby go through, but they are harmless and the child doesn't remember anything. Just be there to make sure they're safe, and they'll get through it just fine.
ReplyDeleteI hate the night terrors. I'm pretty sure it terrifies the parents more than the child who wakes up in the morning with no recollection of his/her demon like behavior.
ReplyDeleteSleep problems affect the entire household, not diagnosed individual. *sigh*
My sleep talkers are hilarious though. Nothing like a good chuckle in the middle of the night, right?