Question
My for year old son wakes up 4-5 nights of the week screaming that he sees bugs of different color that get bigger crawling on the bed or walls or floor. What, if anything, can I do to help him?
Answer
Children normally have nightmares, perhaps he is watching scary shows, also sometimes upon falling asleep or awakening seeing these things is natural phenomenon if it happens once in awhile,the brain and body instead of falling asleep together lag behind each other, if it happens all of the time and daytime wakefulness is affected then that is different. You can try avoiding 3 hours before bedtime, chocolate, caffeine, caramel colored soda, like, coke pepsi or ginger ale,also try 30 minutes before bedtime to take a hot bath to relax and l5 minutes before a glass of warm milk. Milk when heated contains tryptophan a natural amino acid sleep inducer which makes for deeper sleep, if it persists you may consult your pediatrician to see if a sleep center is warranted. Go to sleepnet. com click on disorders, pediatric and check out night mare.feel free to email again karel
