Sleep Disturbance in Kids-Parasomnia
                     Sleep Disturbance in
Kids-Parasomnia
Parasomnia is a term that encompasses unusual and 
abnormal behaviours before falling asleep while 
sleeping and during the phase between sleep and being 
wide awake. The behaviours include sleep paralysis, 
sleepwalking and night terrors. Experts suggest that 
these behaviours occur while transitioning in and out of 
sleep, REM and NREM sleep stages.
Why does parasomnia occur?
Human sleep has 3 main stages. The transition from one state to 
another is not very quick. Various neural centres have to go through 
various transitions before one state completely manifests. A 
combination of these states causes instability which then gives rise 
to abnormal behaviours resulting in parasomnia.

Types of Parasomnia
1.NREM
2.REM
3.OTHERS
NREM
These are commonly known as disorders of arousal. In this 
type of parasomnia, the person experiences confusional 
arousal(the individual sits up from in between sleep and 
looks around but does not leave the bed), sleepwalking, 
night terrors etc. Many show certain sexual behaviour 
during sleep. Some also suffer from sleep-related eating 
disorders which manifest as excessive eating just after 
waking up from sleep.
REM
Sleep paralysis (brief inability to move while waking up or 
falling asleep), nightmare disorder(recurrent, vivid 
nightmares leaving a person distressed and anxious) and 
REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder(RSBD – while sleeping, an 
individual makes an attempt to act out a dream) are a few 
characteristics of REM related parasomnia.
OTHERS
This is for those behaviours that are not specific to a particular 
stage of sleep. It can occur at any stage be it while falling asleep, 
wakefulness, NREM or REM sleep. The behaviours generally 
exhibited are, exploding head syndrome (people experience a loud 
sound or an explosive sensation in the head when they wake up), 
sleep-related hallucinations and bed wetting. 
Parasomnia is more common in children than in adults. Sleep 
deprivation, restless leg syndrome and other sleep disorders are 
the main triggers behind it. Most of the time it occurs occasionally 
and there is actually nothing to worry about. But, if it occurs very 
frequently, then it is time to consult a physician.
Different types of parasomnia in children
1. Nightmares
2. Sleepwalking
3. Sleeptalking
4. Sleep terrors
Nightmares
These are very scary dreams that are extremely vivid. 
Children find it very difficult to fall asleep after they 
wake up from one. These might begin as early as 18 
months of age and mostly are not very severe. These 
occur during REM sleep. If at all there is a psychological 
reason behind the nightmares, it is best to go for 
cognitive therapy and relaxation training.
Sleepwalking
In this, the child might wake up and It generally 
occurs in children between the ages of 5 and 12. 
It is more common in boys and fades away by 
adolescence. It is best to wake up your child 
when he is sleepwalking.
Sleeptalking
In this case, your child will talk during sleep. This 
also affects boys more than girls and usually goes 
away by the early teens.
This is probably the most frightening form of 
parasomnia. Children affected by this sweat, scream 
and sweat during sleep. It happens during non-REM 
sleep. When a child wakes up from sleep terror, he is 
not able to remember why he is afraid. However, this 
Sleep terrors is very rare.
Parasomnia generally does not need treatment. It 
goes away as your child approaches his teenage. It is 
best to manage it during those years as in most of the 
types of parasomnias, interventions work the best 
instead of treatment. Waking up your child in case of 
sleepwalking and talking is the best way out and is not 
at all harmful for your child. However, it must be kept 
in mind that it is important to address all the forms of 
parasomnia as if not addressed, can lead to serious 
injuries, disrupted sleep and other health 
complications in the near future.  
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