Parasomnias most likely to be encountered in clinical practice are namely, sleepwalking,
sleep terrors, confusional arousals, REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and nightmares.
Appropriate treatment, of course, will vary depending on the nature of the presenting parasomnia but there have been reports of behavioral interventions being used successfully to treat TD children with sleepwalking,
sleep terrors, nightmares and rhythmic movements disorders (see Kuhn & Elliott, 2003 for a review).
Unlike
sleep terrors, nightmares are remembered vividly the next morning and often involve themes such as fear, failing, danger, confusion, and being assaulted or chased.
Sleep terrors are characterized by a sudden arousal with a loud scream and physical behavior of intense fear.
Children at this age present with
sleep terrors or confusional arousals, as well as moving around the bed in restless sleep in order to maintain their airway.
"Our results show that there is a substantial effect of genetics factors in
sleep terrors," ABC Online quoted Dr Bich Hong Nguyen, of the Sleep Disorders Centre at Montreal's Sacre-Coeur Hospital, as saying.
Non-REM parasomnias, also termed "arousal disorders", such as Confusional Arousals,
Sleep Terrors, or Sleep Walking can be considered "primary sleep disorders" or "secondary" when associated with an identifiable cause such as a seizure disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, nocturnal cardiac ischemia, or nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia, for example.
Parasomnias, including sleepwalking,
sleep terrors, and confusional awakening, are common in young children.
Sleep terrors (sometimes called pavor nocturnus in children and incubus attack in adults) are marked by a sense of confusion upon wakening and there is an absence of recall of elaborate dream imagery.
The Sleep Disorder information covers the following categories: Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, Narcolepsy, Infant and Children's Sleep, Restless Legs, Other Sleep Disorders (bruxism, fibromyalgia, sleepwalking, hypersomnia,
sleep terrors), and Shiftwork/Circadian Rhythms.
Nocturnal panic is not related to
sleep terrors or nightmares, which occur during stage 4 sleep, the psychologist continued.
difficulty sleeping alone and nightmares or
sleep terrors.
