The latest report documented in the journal SLEEP reveals that kids with frequent nightmares or short periods of night terrors before the age of 12 were three and half times more vulnerable to suffer from psychotic traits in early adolescence. These nightmares doubled the risk of hallucinations or delusions.
Children of age two-nine who often experienced frightening dreams were one and half times more likely to develop psychotic traits.
Professor Dieter Wolke said in a statement, "We certainly don't want to worry parents with this news; three in every four children experience nightmares at this young age. However, nightmares over a prolonged period or bouts of night terrors that persist into adolescence can be an early indicator of something more significant in later life."
A partial wake from sleep with panic, fear or mumbling is what is known as a night terror and is different from nightmare. A night terror occurs during deep sleep cycles in the first half of the night. Nightmare on the other hand, is not caused due to any emotional disturbance but a product of vivid imagination.
For this study, the researchers used a birth cohort study based in South West England, the Avon Longitudinal study of Parents and Children. The group was evaluated six times between ages two and nine. The probability of experiencing psychotic traits during adolescence heightened with the frequency of nightmare. There was a 16 percent rise in the incidence of nightmare among those who experienced one period of recurrent nightmare. The kids with three or more continuous periods of nightmare saw a 56 percent rise in their risk.
The researchers didn't find any association between night walking or falling asleep and psychotic traits in early adolescence.
When the kids reached the age of 12, nearly one in four kids from the study group reported having experienced nightmares in previous six months, and less than one in ten had episodes of night terrors during the same period.
Lucie Russell, Director of Campaigns at YoungMinds, said, "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. Early intervention is crucial to help avoid children suffering entrenched mental illness when they reach adulthood."
Dr Helen Fisher of King's College London says, it is best to maintain a healthy lifestyle that promotes healthy sleep habits for the kids. A most important factor is the diet. It is best to avoid sugary drinks before bed. When the kid is young, parents should make sure to discard any affecting stimuli from the kids bedroom, be it television or videogames.
News Source: www.scienceworldreport.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment