Pseudobulbar affect is another cause.

There are other conditions besides seizures that can cause bouts of laughter during the day. Narcolepsy can do this. So can pseudobulbar palsy. So can temporal lobe epilepsy. And not every seizure can be captured on an EEG.

But waking from sleep into laughter is correlative with seizures.

Anonymous wrote:My child is 9 and still does this sometimes. He does not have seizures (we did a 24 hour EEG and have never seen any indication). He is autistic. For him, it seems to just be night wakings that are pretty prolonged (he also has ADHD and lots of trouble falling asleep). When he is laughing, there are also pauses where he is "talking" to himself - it sounds like he is telling himself really funny jokes.

My DS has the same diagnosis, behavior, and no seizure. When he was younger, he would just laugher for hours before falling asleep, in middle of the night, or very early in the morning. As he got older, he started waking up a few times each night telling himself jokes or repeating something funny he had heard or seen earlier. It can last from 5 minutes to over an hour. He also laughs during day time when he is daydreaming. EEGs were all normal.

My child is 9 and still does this sometimes. He does not have seizures (we did a 24 hour EEG and have never seen any indication). He is autistic. For him, it seems to just be night wakings that are pretty prolonged (he also has ADHD and lots of trouble falling asleep). When he is laughing, there are also pauses where he is "talking" to himself - it sounds like he is telling himself really funny jokes.

Nocturnal seizures are often misdiagnosed as night terrors. Look up nocturnal frontal lobe seizures. My son has them. Some kids that have them have speech issues.

With the age and duration, it sounds a lot like night terrors. I wonder if with crossed signals in the brain, a night terror could manifest as hysterical laughing instead of hysterical screaming?
My niece used to get night terrors, and they were a doozy.

My son did this and it was sleeping problems related to ADHD. He wasn't falling asleep, staying up till all hours of the night and waking up in the middle of the night laughing. His whole sleep cycle was off. so we stared using melatonin and adjusted his bedtime and have not had a problem since.

+1 for seizures

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the info.

My (possibly wrong) information is that the seizures last for minutes at time- this goes on for hours.

God- I am truly a horrible parent.

You're just a parent who has a lot going on, reached out for help, and got some advice that might be useful. Let us know how things turn out!

I agree re seizures - I would see a neuro and do an eeg.

My kids giggle in their sleep for a few seconds.
Is it full-on laughter for hours? That must be incredibly fatiguing for him, and very concerning. Or just random laughs every now and then for hours? Still concerning. I would ask the ped.

There are all kinds of seizures, OP.

Thanks for the info.

My (possibly wrong) information is that the seizures last for minutes at time- this goes on for hours.

God- I am truly a horrible parent.

This can be a type of seizure, OP. It is called a gelastic seizure. The fact that he wakes from sleep is especially indicative of possible seizure activity. I suggest a neurological exam/sleep study.

DS is 3 with global delays. Expressive speech is on par won a 9 month old, via the baileys assessment. Label is DD, but nothing more, yet.
About 2-3 times a month he will wake in the middle of the night- and laugh hysterically. I'm not kidding- but this can go on for hours. If we leave him be or attend to him. Anyone else experience similar?

I know it seems random- but we are just clueless about why this happens.