Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

The natural history of night terrors.

Clinical Pediatrics 1987 October
Night terrors are a sleep disorder, resulting from a partial arousal during slow-wave sleep. They usually occur within 2 hours of sleep onset and are characterized by agitation and unresponsiveness to external stimuli. Nineteen children (ten males, nine females) with onset of night terrors before age 7.5 years were studied by means of a questionnaire. Mean observation time (time from onset age to age at survey) was 8.5 years, but longer than 10 years in nine subjects. Seventy percent of the children had their initial frequency of night terrors as their peak frequency, with a tendency for shorter duration of the parasomnia in this group. Children with onset age less than 3.5 years may be expected to attain a peak frequency of at least one episode per week. Children with onset after 3.5 years, but before 7.5 years, may expect to attain a peak frequency of 1-2 episodes per month. There was a mean duration of 3.9 years, with a tendency for longer duration in children with positive family histories of sleep walking. Fifty percent stopped by age 8 years; 36 percent continued into adolescence. No common abnormal behavioral profile or psychopathology was found. Common precipitants of attacks were not identified.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app