Strange sleep behavour,hysterical laughing and sleep walking.

[faithsstuff]

I have a going on 4 year old who used to have sleep terrors.  Well, in the past 6 months he's started laughing hysterically in his sleep.  The first time, he sat straight up and was maniacally laughing while staring at the wall.  He was physcially and verbally unresponsive and after 20 mins fell back over asleep.  I wondered if we should call a priest (I may not be totally jiking) it was really creepy.  So we did some more research and decided it's a type of night terror.  Well, the 'episodes' are getting more frequent and now he's started walking.

It happened last night, this isn't cute little kid giggling, when he starts we always go running to him b/c at first you can't tell if it's screaming or not.  last night he woke up outside his bed and absolutely panicked.  He threw a huge tantrum, and had a horrid time sleeping again, we were awake from 2-4 and then he still got up at 6 something.  

Tonight dh actually found him at the head of the stairs flapping his hands and doing 'the laugh'.  dh carried him back to bed and stayed with him until it was over.  

I'm wondering if he's started sleep walking if this is something we should call the ped about? He never remembers the incident, the way he does with a bad dream but it makes me concerned that he's started wondering and that in the past 2 weeks he's had four episodes, in the the previous months it happened 1-2x's a month.  

What do you think?  Would you guys be worried?  Anyone had experiance with this or heard of it?

Edited by faithsstuff - 8/15/12 at 4:19pm

[pbjmama]

I don't have any direct recommendations but do you live anywhere near a sleep center? They may be able to point you in the right direction with a phone call. Sounds scary, I know sleep walking like this can lead to accidents.
 

[Ragana]

My kids talk in their sleep and DH has done what you said - sit up with eyes open (but he's not "there"), laughing or talking. I agree it's way creepy, and usually it's during times of stress. But they don't walk. That is what I would be concerned about with such a young child, especially since your husband already found him at the head of the stairs once. Starting with the ped sounds like a good idea, then working up if that doesn't provide the info you need.

PS A friend's sister once woke up in the middle of the night and set the entire dinner table, then remembered nothing the next day.
 

[justastayathome]

My family struggled with my grade-school aged son's nearly nightly night-terrors for several years.  When he was younger, it began with him giggling in his sleep, but got a lot worse.  From the research I've done, I think it is not a spiritual problem, but a sleep disorder that tends to run in families.  I remember walking and talking in my sleep as a child, and even occasionally now as an adult if I am under stress.  (That doesn't mean that there might not be something spiritual making it worse, and prayer is always a good idea!)  It is a condition where the brain get's stuck between sleep-cycles, which for some reason causes great confusion and even terror in the person.  The cause is the genetic disposition to it, but I found out that the main trigger for the night-terrors is lack of sleep!  This was surprising to me.  Try to put your child to bed earlier and see if it helps.  My son was the youngest of 5 kids, and so he typically stayed up way too late for his age because his older brothers did.  The other cause is stress.  My child was enduring serious bullying at school for years, and it took us a long time to solve that problem.  We finally found a different school for him, a private school where the principal did not tolerate bullying, yet did not try to squash the boys spirit either.  It still took him over a year to "decompress".  Be on the look out for things that might be causing stress or a lack of sleep for your child.  A good book on the subject is one by a pediatrician--I forgot his name--called "How To Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems".  Hang in there, it's worse for you than it is for him (at least at night!)  Oh, and you might consider putting a latch on your front door that's out of reach of your child (except this is a fire-hazard...) or I would keep a "baby monitor" on in his room, so that you can hear if he walks in his sleep after you've gone to bed. Once my child ran outside in nothing but his thin pajamas, late at night on one of the coldest nights of the year.  If he had gotten lost or stuck out there, he might have frozen to death!   This isn't usually a problem, unless your child is older, because night terrors generally happen about an hour after they first go to sleep. One more hint...sometimes they "snap out of it" faster if you put them in front of something they like on the TV--I guess their conscious brain over-rides their sleeping brain, and they wake up and then want to go right back to bed.  Try not to talk about it with them in the morning...it makes them feel even more out-of-control and helpless and worried that they are weird.  Do not let them go on sleep-overs until the night terrors are much more rare--especially since kids usually tend to stay up too late on sleep-overs.  Hope that helps and good luck!

[faithsstuff]

Thanks for the tips y'all.  I don't actually think there's a need for an exorcist, it's just totally creepy when you're trying to figure out what your kid is staring at and laughing uproariously at.  I love a good scary movie, and the first time this happened, was an *oh shit* moment :)

When this first started for him, it was only when his schedule had been seriously disrupted i.e. camping or flying, but it's become pretty regular now.  I think we'll def put a safety gate at the top of the stairs.  My hubby talks and moves in his sleep (though he stays in bed) so I wouldn't be shocked if it ran in the fam.  Anyway, if there's any more tips/experiance I'll take them.

[tonttu]

Could it be , that your son is suffering from seizures ? 

One of my friend´s kid had similar episodes , and they were at their wits end , until a neurologist found out he had a rare form of epilepsy 

[meemee]

sorry i cant offer you any tips. but just some experiences.

my poor mom. it was my brother who sleep talked. he would even do it during his afternoon nap. acting out scenes from his books and later comics. he did it till his late teen years. when it first started he'd either laugh or have a fight and yell around. 

it was me who sleep walked. mom would keep a closed eye on me. for some reason i would always go to the fridge when i wanted to go to the bathroom and kept pushing hte door. she just led me to the bathroom and i'd use it and go to bed without remembering anything. later on i would do a lot of chores at night and remember nothing - including doing the dishes. i sleepwalked till the end of my teen years. 

[thelittlebrothe]

This is absolutely a spiritual issue.  Children are the most vulnerable to attacks by demons.  There are family inter-generational demons.

Holy water, & blessed salts.  PRAY& FAST. the devil cannot remain in a household that does this.  http://www.medjugorje.org/thefamily.htm

Spiritual Warfare Prayer
http://www.saintpiocenter.org/prayer.asp

Padre Pio, St. Pio of Pietrelcina:
"The Rosary is THE WEAPON."
http://www.yourcatholicstore.com/rosary.html
 

Holy Shepard Jesus, Grant i pray

the immediate & complete protection of all children

especially those for whom no one prays

are left unguarded & easy prey for the evil one.

GRANT THEM YOUR MERCY & REDEMPTION O LORD.

[dcedc]

If I were you, I would definitely call a priest! One of my children had nightmares when she was a baby and they stopped the day we had the house blessed. With what it sounds like is going on, you may need more than a house blessing, is the child baptized? The old rite included exorcism and I would have that done as well. Blessings to you and your family!

[leafylady]

My son went through night terrors.  It went on and off for a few years and he eventually grew out of it.  I think it's a stage that some children go through.

[leafylady]

I went through the same thing when I was a kid, but somewhat different behaviors than my son, so I agree with the others who say it probably runs in families.

[~Adorkable~]

wow, im guessing we can file this thread upper "be careful what you title a thread!"

i hope you can sift thru the more "colorful replies and get some constructive steps to take. I would start with finding a referral to a sleep center, my hubby has done a sleep study and it is really impressive what they can understand about your brain and sleep and how things go awry. 

till then, can you put up a child gate at the top of the stairs or the door to his room to keep him safe should he walk again? i would do my best while you sort things out to look around and see how you can keep his nighttime surrounds safe.

[Ragana]

Originally Posted by ~Adorkable~ 

wow, im guessing we can file this thread upper "be careful what you title a thread!"

[faithsstuff]

lol, thread title changed :)

[~Adorkable~]

probably a good move  

[~Adorkable~]

i have been pondering if my 19m old son has some form of night terrors, how do you tell if that is what it is? its nt a big enough deal to need  to take him anywhere for it, but i would like to know the best wy of handling him. he will suddenly be "up" and screaming his head off, but not want any sort of soothing and frankly i swear he is not awake. eventually he "snaps out of it" and is usually fast asleep in a mere moment, so going from 0 to 100 to 0 again, i hope I'm not heeded to trouble i nthe long term with him

[eamac]

Pray the Chaplet of St Michael the Archangel daily, specifically for protection of each member of your family.  There is a special rosary for it that you can purchase at a Catholic religous store.  You can find the words on line, and they also come with the rosary.  I know someone who had night terrors often for over 25 years.  The person, received the rosary from a relative who visited Mt. St. Michaels in France, and has said the chaplet faithfully now for a number of years.  The terrors stopped soon after starting the devotion, and have not returned.  But it is very important to be faithful to daily prayer, and to do everything possible to stay in conformance with the Divine Will, especially to forgive everyone who has ever wronged you or your family.      

[faithsstuff]

Originally Posted by ~Adorkable~ 

i have been pondering if my 19m old son has some form of night terrors, how do you tell if that is what it is? its nt a big enough deal to need  to take him anywhere for it, but i would like to know the best wy of handling him. he will suddenly be "up" and screaming his head off, but not want any sort of soothing and frankly i swear he is not awake. eventually he "snaps out of it" and is usually fast asleep in a mere moment, so going from 0 to 100 to 0 again, i hope I'm not heeded to trouble i nthe long term with him

that's what we were experiancing.  The first time we thought he was having a nightmare but was unresponsive to us.  We were freaking and after a while he was just *asleep* again.  No recollection of it the next day and no new fears to discuss.  If you google it, you'll get some good info.  good luck!

[pek64]

Does he take any medication? Night terrors can be a side effect of some medications.

Time to be Sherlock Holmes.
Does he skip some nights (sleep through the night without an episode)?

[gerigc]

My daughter had night terrors for years.  It is much more frightening for the parent as the child never remembers it.  Not to diminish the use of Holy water,etc. - by all means use it and more - but this is a sleep disorder.  He will outgrow it.  My daughter did.  Just keep him safe as he goes through it.  You can't wake them.  He will calm down and go back to sleep.