Question: My son will be 8 in less than a month and for about a year now he has been screaming hysterically in his sleep. He cannot be comforted or woken up during this time. He will look me straight in the face and reach out for me screaming hysterically “Momma, Momma Help Me Please Help me Momma” no matter how hard I hug him he still screams “stop …stop no …no I don’t want to…. please stop…. no I don’t want to go upside down” Momma make it stop he screams.
Although it sounds harsh and he hates it the only way I can stop it is to repeatedly spray him down in the shower with ice cold water. After I wake him he tells me every time that the house was turning upside down and he can’t stop it. He is fully aware of what’s going on in his nightmare. He will even stop and point up in the room and start screaming even after I have partially woken him up again begging me to make it stop.I think he is definitely sleep deprived because he will now take naps and have nightmares during his naps too. I know that he is tired and having a hard time paying attention not only at school but as home as well.I have him go to bed around 7-7:30pm so that he has an opportunity to obtain 11-12 hours of sleep although he does not get a solid 8 hours of sleep ever. If he is not having nightmares he is still waking for various reasons (water, bathroom, afraid of the dark, can’t sleep, etc.) He is also having behavioral problems in school that I believe may be linked to his sleep deprivation. I am at a loss as to what to do for him. Please help me so that I may help my son.Thank you,Aimee