A new study suggests that frequent nightmares or episodes of night terrors over a long period of time in young children could be an early sign of mental illness.
"We certainly don't want to worry parents with this news; three in every four children experience nightmares at this young age," Dieter Wolke of the University of Warwick in England said in a news release. "However, nightmares over a prolonged period or bouts of night terrors that persist into adolescence can be an early indicator of something more significant later in life."
The study, published in the journal SLEEP, showed that 12-year-old children reporting frequent nightmares were three and a half times more likely to suffer from psychotic experiences in early adolescence. The experience of night terrors doubled the risk of these problems, including interrupted thoughts, hallucinations or delusions. Children between the ages of two and nine who had frequent nightmares had up to one and a half times increased risk of having psychotic problems.
Nightmares are common in young children and tend to become less frequent as the child ages. They occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Night terrors are a sleep disorder occurring during non-REM sleep. Those who have night terrors often scream out loud and sit upright in a panicked state. In more extreme cases, there can be thrashing of limbs and rapid body movements. In the morning, the child wakes up unaware of their activity during the night.
By age 12, about one in four of the children studied reported suffering from nightmares in the past six months. Less than one in ten reported experiencing night terrors during the same time frame.
"The best advice is to try to maintain a lifestyle that promotes healthy sleep hygiene for your child, by creating an environment that allows for the best possible quality of sleep," said Dr. Helen Fisher of King's College London. "Diet is a key part of this, such as avoiding sugary drinks before bed, but at that young age we'd always recommend removing any affecting stimuli from the bedroom - be it television, video games or otherwise. That's the most practical change you can make."
"This is a very important study because anything that we can do to promote early identification of signs of mental illness is vital to help the thousands of children that suffer," added Lucie Russell, director of campaigns at YoungMinds. "Early intervention is crucial to help avoid children suffering entrenched mental illness when they reach adulthood."
