Coping With Night Terrors

夜惊的处理

A night terror is a relatively common occurrence that appears mostly in young children, typically between the ages of 3 to 5 years. 2 to 3% of all children will experience episodes of night terrors. By the time they reach school age, most of these children will have outgrown these generally harmless events.

夜惊是一种相对常见的现象，以幼儿为最多见，尤其是3－5岁儿童。在所有儿童中，有2%－3%的儿童会有夜惊发作。到学龄期时，多数儿童的夜惊会自然消失。

Night Terror or Nightmare

夜惊抑或梦魇

A night terror is not the same thing as a nightmare. Nightmares occur during the dream phase of sleep known as REM sleep (this stands for Rapid Eye Movement; also known as "dreaming" sleep). The circumstances of the nightmare will frighten the child, who usually will wake up with a vivid memory of a long movie-like dream. Night terrors, on the other hand, occur during a phase of deep non-REM sleep - usually an hour or two after the child goes to bed. During a night terror, which may last anywhere from a few minutes up to an hour, the child is still asleep. Her eyes may be open, but she is not awake. When she does wake up, she'll have absolutely no recollection of the episode other than a sense of fear.

夜惊与梦魇不同。梦魇出现在睡梦期，即快速眼动睡眼期。梦魇惊吓小孩，小孩醒来时通常会有生动的电影样睡梦记忆。相反，夜惊出现在非快速眼动深睡期，通常是小孩上床1－2小时后。夜惊可能持续几分钟至一小时，发作时小孩仍处于睡眼中。她的双眼可能睁开，但并没有醒。当她确实醒来时，除了恐惧感外，她也绝对想不起刚才所发生的事情。

Why Does The Child Have Night Terrors

小孩为何夜惊

Several factors may contribute to night terrors. It's likely that if her parents had night terrors, the child will, too. Fatigue and psychological stress may also play roles in their occurrence. Make sure the child is getting plenty of rest. Be aware of things that may be upsetting to the child, and to the extent one is able, try to minimize the distress.

夜惊因素很多。如果父母有夜惊，小孩也会有。疲劳与心理紧张对夜惊发生也有影响。应确保小孩有充分的休息。应了解困扰小孩的情况，尽量减少其痛苦。医学全.在线提供

Children usually have night terrors at the same time each night, generally sometime in the first few hours after falling asleep. Doctors suggest parents wake their child about 30 minutes before the night terror usually happens. Get the child out of bed, and have her talk to you. Keep her awake for 5 minutes, and then let her go back to sleep.

儿童通常在每晚的相同时间出现夜惊，一般在入睡后几个小时。因此，医生建议家长在平时夜惊发生30分钟前叫醒小孩，起床，并与其交谈。醒5分钟后再让她回去睡觉。

Night terrors can be a frightening phenomenon of childhood but they are not dangerous. If they occur frequently or over a long period of time, however, discuss this with the doctor.

夜惊是童年期的一种可怕现象，但并无危险。如频繁发作或时间较长，则应与医生讨论。

What Can Be Done

如何处理

It's helpful to know that although these events may be disturbing, night terrors themselves are not harmful to the child. But because a child may get out of bed and run around the room, doctors do advise parents to gently restrain a child experiencing night terrors. Otherwise, let the episode run its course. Shouting and shaking the child awake will just agitate her more. Remember to warn babysitters and other family members who may be present overnight so that they will understand what is happening and won't overreact.

虽然夜惊发作很烦人，但夜惊本身对小孩并无伤害。由于小孩可能会下床跑出房间，医生建议家长对夜惊小孩稍加约束，或使发作自行结束过程。喊叫或摇醒小孩只会使其更加焦虑。同时提醒看护人员及其他家庭成员，使其了解情况不致反应过度。