Dd6 cries in her sleep every night

[Jean in Newcastle]

This is the same dd who had major night terrors when she was smaller. She would have 3 or 4 every night! They would start out with blood-curdling screams. Anyway - it has been a few years since the night terrors stopped but recently she's started crying every night about 1/2 hour into her sleep. Do you think this is a milder kind of night-terror? She's been moodier during the day too - tantrums, and tears seem to occur more frequently.

[Amy in Orlando]

This is the same dd who had major night terrors when she was smaller. She would have 3 or 4 every night! They would start out with blood-curdling screams. Anyway - it has been a few years since the night terrors stopped but recently she's started crying every night about 1/2 hour into her sleep. Do you think this is a milder kind of night-terror? She's been moodier during the day too - tantrums, and tears seem to occur more frequently.

I have one son who had night terrors - GAH - there is not much worse than waiting those out. He did much like your daughter around 6-7. We mostly just let it play out. I did start an earlier bedtime (he's a morning person) and that helped a bit. I also cut out any tv, video, gaming stuff about 2 hours before bedtime and that helped.

I think in our case, it was a combination of mini-night-terrors and a growth spurt. As he's gotten older, I've noticed this son doesn't not sleep well at all (eats everything in the house and is generally grumpy) right before he grows.

Hope you can figure it out!

[Natalieclare]

This is the same dd who had major night terrors when she was smaller. She would have 3 or 4 every night! They would start out with blood-curdling screams. Anyway - it has been a few years since the night terrors stopped but recently she's started crying every night about 1/2 hour into her sleep. Do you think this is a milder kind of night-terror? She's been moodier during the day too - tantrums, and tears seem to occur more frequently.


Does your dd remember the crying out? Is she aware of it later?

Poor thing, I hope it disappears quickly. Sleep disruption is somewhat of an intimate acquaintance of mine, so my deepest sympathies go out to you and your dd.

[Alenee]

Jean, when I read this I felt so sad for your dd. I don't have any experience with this but I'll certainly be praying for her. :grouphug:

[Jenne]

My DS12 and I are both prone to night terrors. His have improved a lot since we took him out of school. I remember one vividly-- he was panicking about Valentine's Day cards, even though he really doesn't care about them when he's awake. For him, it's a combination of stress and over-tiredness. It's that way for me, too. I feel for your daughter. Night terrors are horrible!

[nestof3]

Nathan did the same thing -- night terrors and crying. Now that he's 8, they've ceased. We never did find a physical cause for them, but I did read that highly creative / gifted chilldren are prone to them.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. All the things mentioned: growth spurt, over-tiredness, even stress are possibilities. We are leaving our church (next Sunday is our last). She hasn't mentioned being stressed by it but now I'm thinking that must be adding to this.

[Nakia]

My oldest daughter went through a phase, around that age, when she had nightmares. Now my 5 yr old has nightmares sometimes. I think it is their age. They are really beginning to learn the difference between real and make believe, but aren't really mature enough to sort it all out. Also they are learning about real life fears. We do have to be careful about what Emma watches on TV right before bed. No Animal Planet! One night we watched something about black bears, and that night she woke up crying for her older sister to get away from the bear. It was so pitiful!!

If you aren't a Christian, ignore this part. With my oldest, it got so bad, that I was really worried. We started diligently praying over her every single night that she would not have any nightmares. The Lord was faithful to answer!

[Staci in MO]

He had night terrors as a toddler, then went through a stage about age six where he was crying in his sleep. I think it's still a night terror, just milder.

It eventually passed. Like the others said, not letting him get over-tired helped a little bit.