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My Son Wakes Up Screaming Every Night

by Ati
(Anchorage, AK)

My son just turned 5 years old. Ever since he was born, usually every single night, he wakes up screaming as if being tortured. When he was younger I thought it was night terrors. In the last year, he still wakes up with a tortured scream. He seems to not know what's going on, where he is, or even why he's crying. He won't tell me what's wrong, which is really strange since my son is the most talkative child.


Sometimes he gets out of bed, stands at my door, screaming. He'll start shaking. He usually does this for about 5 minutes. Then he'll bolt to the bathroom. After he's done peeing he'll return to his room and back to bed as if nothing happened.

Sometimes he's still disoriented when he goes to the bathroom so he pees in the trash or even the sink. But he goes back to bed just fine. No screaming or crying. The next morning, he's just fine. Wakes up energized ready for the day.

He even knows he wakes up screaming at night, but even awake he can't tell me why he wakes up screaming. He says he just does. A few weeks out of the year, he'll sleep throughout the night not waking up. But will start up again. He doesn't seem affected by it but it still worries me.

Kevin: Hi Ati, It sounds like sleep terrors. You said you used to think it was that when he was younger. Do you no longer think that? If so, why did you rule it out?

The sudden screaming and the disorientation you describe during your son's episodes does make it sound pretty characteristic of sleep terrors. The episodes typically go away in time, usually before adolescence. They are also typically benign.

As Dr. Dement has written in the Stanford Sleep Book: "Parents of young patients must be reassured that these dramatic episodes have no psychopathological implications, that they seldom cause injury, and are almost always outgrown."

However, for frequently occuring episodes of sleep terrors, especially those occuring in adults, or for episodes that cause injury or significant anxiety in children, a sleep specialist should be consulted.

Warmly,
Kevin


(Please keep in mind that I am a student of sleep science and not a medical doctor. Please take any thoughts I give with my background in mind.)

Comments for My Son Wakes Up Screaming Every Night

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Jun 09, 2014
 Link to needing to urinate? NEW
by: Anonymous

My seven year old son does the exact same thing - and has done for the past couple of years. When he wakes up screaming now I automatically get him to the bathroom as quick as possible to pee. He is completely disorientated the whole time and still is crying/screaming etc whilst urinating (I literally have to point him in the right direction otherwise we would have pee all over the place). It still scares me when he does it but I think that reality is that he is finding the urge to urinate while he is asleep very uncomfortable and unpleasant but is unable to wake up completely so is stuck in some kind of limbo land where he is emotionally/verbally responding to the unpleasant feeling of a full bladder/urgency to pee.
Sep 10, 2015
 Waking up disoriented and crying NEW
by: Jaimie

My son is 7 years old and seems to wake up the same way. Lately, he will scream, get out of bed and walk downstairs completely disorientated and shaking and then keep aimlessly wondering and crying not knowing what is going on or really where he is. I will take him to bathroom where he pees and then he still will be yelling and sometimes at me. The last 2 times though, he threw up as well and that seemed to wake him up and then he is fine and normal. I am really concerned about this and am scared this will affect him psychologically!
Sep 24, 2015
 My son episodes are getting worse. NEW
by: Adrian

My son just turn 7 and he began having this episodes at age 4. He would wake up screaming 2 at night I would just lay him back in bed and sing to him until he stop. I talked to his Dr. And she said it sounded like night terrors and that he will out grow it by age 5-6.As years have gone by my son still has them but they seem getting worse. He is waking up 2-3 times a night. I notice that most of the times he wakes up after his 2-3 our into his sleep and then again the same 2-3 after the first one. Last year he started crying or talking and walking around the house but he won't wake up. I hold him by the hand and walk him back to his room. Some times he walks to my room and knocks my door. I open and he just stands their crying I talk to him and no answer. But this year he change theirs night that he cries and I can easily get him back to bed and calm him down. Theirs other nights were he is so aggressive he fights on his own like if some one is attacking him and when I grab him and hold him he is fighting me and hitting me and can't wake up but he is with his eyes wide open and just stares foward like I'd some one was really their. Other nights he is crying and covering him self and in a position like some one is hurting him. I grad him and hug me but at first he tries to run away then finally gives in and then he squeezes me with a lot of fourse like holding to life to the point that it hurts me the squeeze and again won't wake up. What I do is just hold him and some times rock him or sign to him until he calms down but when ask him the next day he doesn't remember. I am very concern because he is now waking up with this behavior. I am very careful with what he does during the day and what he watches on tv. What should I do? Should I be worried? Is this normal with night terrors? What age do they last to or will they ever go away?
Sep 24, 2015
 My son episodes are getting worse. NEW
by:

My son just turn 7 and he began having this episodes at age 4. He would wake up screaming 2 at night I would just lay him back in bed and sing to him until he stop. I talked to his Dr. And she said it sounded like night terrors and that he will out grow it by age 5-6.As years have gone by my son still has them but they seem getting worse. He is waking up 2-3 times a night. I notice that most of the times he wakes up after his 2-3 our into his sleep and then again the same 2-3 after the first one. Last year he started crying or talking and walking around the house but he won't wake up. I hold him by the hand and walk him back to his room. Some times he walks to my room and knocks my door. I open and he just stands their crying I talk to him and no answer. But this year he change theirs night that he cries and I can easily get him back to bed and calm him down. Theirs other nights were he is so aggressive he fights on his own like if some one is attacking him and when I grab him and hold him he is fighting me and hitting me and can't wake up but he is with his eyes wide open and just stares foward like I'd some one was really their. Other nights he is crying and covering him self and in a position like some one is hurting him. I grad him and hug me but at first he tries to run away then finally gives in and then he squeezes me with a lot of fourse like holding to life to the point that it hurts me the squeeze and again won't wake up. What I do is just hold him and some times rock him or sign to him until he calms down but when ask him the next day he doesn't remember. I am very concern because he is now waking up with this behavior. I am very careful with what he does during the day and what he watches on tv. What should I do? Should I be worried? Is this normal with night terrors? What age do they last to or will they ever go away?
Jan 19, 2016
 my thoughts NEW
by: angelica g

my son is 5 on his way to 6...and my son also has this horrible problem I don't believe in night terrors.. I believe in lost sprits..my son wakes up pushing some thing or some one away, he holds his throat as if he is trying to take hands off that are choking him then he starts to move around like if some one is holding on to him.. my oldest son had the same problem but he was able to tell me on his own "mom last night this big ugly blood face on his head had things like a bull with lost of dirty cloths on was chasing me with this long stick".. then he would walk away and go on playing... at that time my oldest some was 3 now he's 9 and still remembers and sometimes still wakes up doing the same as my 5 year old does...
believe in church or not believe in holy water or not.. but I am going to do everything in my power that I can to make my sons not dream feel or see evil again...so my advices a little holy water wouldn't hurt.. today is Jan 18th 2016 tomorrow morning I am on my way to speak to a priest.. and I will keep everyone posted
Jan 20, 2016
 Thank you Angelica NEW
by: Anonymous

Thank you for sharing your experience, that though cross my mind a couple of times. Because some times he would say the scary black thing in their or the scary thing scare me and point to the closet or just point to a space in his bedroom but he was not fully awake but he would answer me or just talk but with body langue of fear. So I would pray over him and sign and rock him to sleep my oldest son sleeps in the same room but has never mention any thing but he does not like been in the room alone he says he is scare and doesn't know why he sleeps with a night light or some nights comes in my bed room and ask if his lil brother can sleep with him in his bed my lil one is 8 and my oldest is 12. But what scare me he was 5 and one morning he sat in the kitchen table and said in front of every one mom the girls died last night he meant my 4 daughters and I said what he said yeah the bad black thing grab a knife and killed them with the knife and their was blood all over that was the first time he mention fear and evil so that let all of us staring at him and scared. So I took all knifes and every thing away from his reach and that was what made me think about that. But of course Drs told me is night terror and he has been in counseling for 2 years but nothing like that comes out he doesn't remember. What do you suggest? Did you ever get an answer from the priest
Jun 05, 2016
 15 months NEW
by: Anonymous

My son sleep max 4 hours sometimes he doesn't sleep all night

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