How are night terrors treated?
At home, parents can ensure the following precautions are made for their children who are experiencing night terrors: • Make the child’s room as safe as possible to prevent injury. • Eliminate sources of sleep disturbance (ensure the room is dark, etc.). • Maintain a consistent sleep and waking schedule. Aside from these simple precautions, there is very little in the way of treatment for night terrors. If alcohol or stress is contributing, efforts should be made to eliminate these sources. As far as medication, however, only tricyclic antidepressants, such as imiprimine or benzodiazepines, have shown to be beneficial and, even then, only in the short-term. Psychotherapy or counseling may be appropriate in some cases, particularly to educate parents and let them know that the condition is really not as severe as it appears. As far as prevention, if a child is experiencing consistent night terrors, sometimes waking them up 15 minutes prior to their expected night-terror event can be hel
