This post was sponsored by Lully as part of Influencer Activation for Influence Central.

Is your child one of the more than 4 million kids in the U.S that suffer from night terrors?  Trust me; you’d know right away without thinking if the answer is “yes.”  Those of us who’ve dealt with them never forget the abject fear of that first time waking up to our child’s bloodcurdling scream, raced to their sides, only to find them completely inconsolable and unresponsive.

My son was about 2.5 the first time he experienced night terrors. I should have known what was happening right away, I’ve experienced them myself most of my life. Because of that, I went through a stage where I read pretty much every single book and academic journal on sleep I could find, so I should have been pretty well prepared! The thing is, it’s a whole lot different when you’re standing on the other side of one, seeing your child experiencing such horror and not being able to reach them to comfort them.

What is is like to live with night terrors?

Here’s the thing about night terrors: people will tell you that your child will grow out of them. For some kids, maybe that is true. Night terrors typically affect kids from ages 18 months to 12 years old, but that’s not written in stone.  I never really outgrew them, though. Now that I’m older, I don’t think I have them as often as I used to. I do have horrible nightmares, occasionally wake up screaming and even get lost or confused if my door is shut. But I’m told that no one hears me crying out in my sleep quite as often. Most people don’t remember their night terrors, so it’s kind of hard to say for certain how bad I still am.

My son is 11, and while his have decreased in frequency a bit over the years, they get awful when he’s stressed out. He just started middle school this week, so his stress levels are pretty high lately! Just a few weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night to him scared and upset because he couldn’t find me. He walks and talks in his sleep too. He was crying out “where are you?” and turning on every light in the house in a panic. He remembers none of it.

While our kids experiencing the night terrors may not remember them, the rest of the family definitely does! Studies show that even when just one child in your home suffers from them, everyone in the family is affected due to the disruption to their sleep. When I found out about the Lully Sleep Guardian 2, a device that you place under your child’s mattress to help prevent night terrors before they happen, I was really intrigued and excited to see how it would work.

Prevent Night Terrors with Lully Sleep Guardian 2

The Lully Sleep Guardian 2 is a little pod just about the size of a hockey puck that you put under your child’s mattress. It’s completely safe to use. It plugs into the wall and pairs with a companion iOS app. When it’s time for bed, you just click “Bedtime” on the app or the device, and it detects when your child falls asleep.

As your child falls asleep, Lully begins a countdown to pinpoint the moment of the night terror, then sends out a gentle vibration through the mattress. It’s not enough to wake them, so it won’t interfere with a good night’s sleep. Just enough to gently stir them and deter the night terror. Kind of like when your significant other is snoring next to you and you gently (usually!) nudge them with your foot.

Getting everything set up is easy, but Lully does need your help to learn how to prevent night terrors in your child. When you start up the app, after you pair your Lully with your smartphone, you’ll go through a series of questions so Lully can get to know your child’s sleep habits. After you finish, the app will walk you through your reasonable expectations.

Right now, Jacob and I are still in the learning stage with Lully. The device and app can, in theory, work right away for some families. For others, it can take up to 28 days for the device to really learn your child’s night terror schedule. During that time, you do have to be on top of letting Lully know how the night went. Unlike with the original Sleep Guardian, though, the Lully Sleep Guardian 2 does all the hard work on its own. You don’t have to wake up and adjust it or anything, just turn it on and help it learn a bit along the way.

So far, I feel like Jake’s sleep has improved and I have noticed fewer night terrors, but his “terror schedule” has always been kind of erratic, so our Lully has a much higher learning curve. I’ve heard other moms say that they can pinpoint their child’s terrors almost to the minute. If that’s your child, I bet Lully will be able to learn much faster. Based on our experience so far, I know once we get through this learning stage, it’s going to improve his sleep ever more (and mine, by extension!). It’s actually proven to work because it’s based on the best medical knowledge of children’s sleep.

Ready to help send your child’s night terrors packing? Visit the Lully website to learn more about both the Sleep Guardian and the Sleep Guardian 2! Follow Lully on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with news and get more great sleep tips.