A healthy 5-year-old girl is brought to the office for evaluation of night awakenings

A healthy 5-year-old girl is brought to the office for evaluation of night awakenings. She has awakened screaming during each of the past 3 nights about an hour after going to sleep. When her parents go to her room, she is short of breath, crying, and sweating. Her face is flushed and she looks frightened.

The girl does not respond to her parents and jumps out of bed as if running away from something. When her parents hold her, she continues to cry. She eventually goes back to sleep. The next morning, the girl does not mention the incident. Her parents report that she started kindergarten last week and has begun to go all day without taking a nap.

Her mother wonders if she is having nightmares due to anxiety about starting school. Developmental milestones are normal. Temperature is 3S.7 C (98 F), blood pressure is 100/50 mm Hg, pulse is 96/min, and respirations are 20/min. A complete physical examination is unremarkable.

Sleep terror