Scared in sleep – a short background

Night terrors strike more than one-third of children in the United States, according to the Washington, D.C.-based National Sleep Foundation. The disorder is particularly common in boys and usually occurs between the ages of 3 and 7, says Dr. John Tedeschi, chairman of Virtua Health West Jersey’s pediatric department.

For most children – and worried parents – the episodes are mercifully short-lived, beginning and ending within a few weeks of each other. For others, night terrors can haunt children for years, hanging on well into the preteen years.