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What are night terrors?
Night terrors are sleep disturbances in which a child may suddenly sit bolt upright in bed, cry, scream, moan, mumble and thrash about with their eyes wide open, but without being truly awake (NHS 2018). They happen when a child partially awakes from deep sleep. If your little one has one, they will be unaware of your presence and is unlikely to respond to anything you say or do (NHS 2018).An episode can continue for up to 15 minutes, and sometimes occur more than once during the night. When it's over your child falls back to sleep abruptly with no memory of the incident (NHS 2018).
How are night terrors different from nightmares?
Unlike a night terror, a nightmare leaves your child truly awake – they can remember their dream and sometimes talk about it, and they'll seek out and feel comforted by your presence. Also, children have nightmares during dream (REM) sleep, often in the early morning hours between 2am and 6am. They commonly have night terrors, on the other hand, in the first few hours of the night, during deep non-dream (non-REM) sleep (NHS 2018).The easiest way to tell the difference between a night terror and a nightmare, is to ask yourself who's more upset about it the next morning. If your child is more agitated, they had a bad dream. If you're the one who's disturbed, they probably had a night terror. Rest assured, the "terror" of a night terror lingers far longer in the parent who watched it than in the child who lived it.
What should I do if my child has a night terror?
Don't try to wake them (NHS 2018). And expect that your efforts to comfort them will be rebuffed – a child having a night terror really can't be calmed down, and if you try to hold them it may make them wilder. Unless they’re in danger of hurting themselves, don't attempt to physically comfort them.Just speak calmly, put yourself between them and anything dangerous (the headboard of their bed, for instance), and wait for the storm to pass (NHS 2018). Before you go to bed, take the same precautions you would for a sleepwalker, since children in the grip of a night terror often stumble out of bed. Pick up any toys or objects on the floor that they could trip on, fasten a gate at the top of the stairs, and make sure windows and outside doors are locked (UpToDate 2021).
Your child won't remember the episode the next morning, but it may still help to have a general chat to find out if anything is worrying them and triggering the episodes (NHS 2018).
What causes night terrors?
There's no definitive way to prevent night terrors because no one knows exactly what causes them. Night terrors can result from an erratic or insufficient sleep routine or any type of sleep deprivation (NHS 2018). They may be caused by stress experienced during the day or over-tiredness.You may find that your child's more prone to night terrors if they’re ill or taking certain medications. They may also be more likely to get a night terror if something wakes them up in the night, for example a loud noise or a full bladder (NHS 2018). There is even some evidence that night terrors run in families (NHS 2018, UpToDate 2021). What is known is that, on their own, night terrors do not mean a child has a psychological problem or is even upset about something.
Can night terrors be prevented?
Solving any other sleep problems your child has, such as getting up in the middle of the night, can help ward off night terrors.It will also help if your child has a regular, calming bedtime routine and gets enough sleep (NHS 2018).
If the night terror episodes are frequent and occur at a specific time every night, you may find that waking your child breaks the cycle. Wake them 15 minutes before the anticipated time of the episode every night for seven days. This can disrupt their sleep pattern enough to stop the episodes without affecting the quality of their sleep (NHS 2018, UpToDate 2021).
When should I seek help for my child’s night terrors?
Most children eventually grow out of night terrors. But talk to your GP if they're occurring several times a night or most nights. Your GP will check whether something that's easily treatable is causing the episodes (NHS 2018).For example, night terrors can be triggered by sleep apnoea (UpToDate 2021). This is a condition where the airways in the throat become either fully or partially blocked during sleep and disrupt your child's breathing. Although this sounds alarming, sleep apnoea is a common and treatable condition.
More child sleep tips
- Find out how to deal with late night visits from your child.
- Discover what to do if your preschooler has a nightmare.
- Read how much sleep your preschooler needs.
References
NHS 2018: Night terrors and nightmares. NHS, Health A-Z. www.nhs.uk [Accessed March 2022]UpToDate 2021: Parasomnias of childhood, including sleepwalking. UpToDate, Patient education. www.uptodate.com [Accessed March 2022]