Why nightmares when sick

Protect your child against injury. During a night terror, a child can fall down a stairway, run into a wall, or break a window. Try to gently direct your child back to bed. Prepare babysitters for these episodes. Explain to people who care for your child what a night terror is and what to do if one happens. Try to prevent night terrors. A night terror can be triggered if your child becomes overly-tired. Be sure your child goes to bed at a regular time, and early enough to give him or her enough sleep.

Younger children may need to return to a daily nap. In many cases, a child who has a night terror only needs comfort and reassurance. Psychotherapy or counseling may be appropriate in some cases. Benzodiazepine medications used at bedtime will often reduce night terrors; however, medication is not usually recommended to treat this disorder.

While night terrors are not harmful, they can resemble other conditions or lead to problems for the child. Consult your child's healthcare provider if you notice any of the following:. In many cases, no examination or testing is needed.

Keep your door open. This will help you remember that your family is close by. If you are scared, get up and find someone for reassurance.

You're never too old for a hug! Most of the time, nightmares are not a big problem. It often helps to tell a trusted adult about your bad dreams. Just talking about what happened might make you feel better. If something has been troubling you during the day, talking about those feelings also may help. Some kids "rewrite" their nightmares by giving them happier outcomes. Another trick is to draw a picture of the bad dream and then rip it up!

Sometimes it helps to keep a dream journal, a notebook in which you describe the dreams you can recall. Tracking your dreams — good and bad — and how you felt before you went to sleep can give you a better sense of how your mind works at night. If you have nightmares a lot, you and your parent might want to see a counselor or a psychologist to help you deal with your bad dreams.

It will give you a chance to talk about some of the things bothering you that may be related to your nightmares. Rarely, kids with frequent nightmares may need to visit a doctor who can see if the nightmares are because of a physical condition. Remember, nightmares are not real and they can't hurt you. Dreaming about something scary does not mean it will happen in real life.

There are lots of different theories about what dreams actually are, clinical sleep psychologist Dr. Then if you see or smell something you'll think of a memory associated with that," Dr.

Brues tells Bustle. Breus says. One of the biggest reasons sleep is impacted by your physical health is due to the connection between your sleep cycle and your core body temperature. At the end of the sleep cycle and when most dreaming takes place, during REM sleep, your body temperature should be lower, Dr.

Breus explains.