Night Terrors in Children

Many parents experience one of those nights they never forget: the child sits up in bed, screams, looks terrified or angry, perhaps even pushes you away or gets up to wander the house — and nothing you do to calm them seems to work. It is frightening, confusing and can feel like an ongoing ordeal. But in most cases this is a familiar, common phenomenon called night terrors.

What exactly are night terrors?

Night terrors are events that occur during deep sleep, mainly in young children. They belong to the same family of phenomena as sleepwalking. Although the child looks awake — eyes open, body moving, voice loud — they are in fact completely asleep. During a night terror a child may:

• Scream or cry intensely
• Look frightened, angry or restless
• Speak unclearly or not respond sensibly
• Push, thrash in bed, or even get up and walk around

The most important thing to know is that the child is not aware of what is happening and will not remember it in the morning. This is not a nightmare, and there is no frightening dream involved.

How long do they last?

In most cases night terrors last between 5 and 10 minutes, sometimes a little longer. For parents it can feel like an eternity, but for the child it is a passing event that leaves no memory and no emotional harm.

Why can’t you calm the child?

This is one of the hardest things for parents. During a night terror the child is in very deep sleep, the brain is not “open” to connection or reassurance, and trying to wake, comfort or question them may actually increase the intensity. So your inability to calm them does not mean you are doing something wrong — it means you are dealing with a situation in which the child simply isn’t truly awake.

Do night terrors mean there is an emotional problem?

No. Night terrors in children are not a sign of a psychological problem, and they do not cause emotional harm. In most children the phenomenon disappears on its own with age, usually by the start of adolescence. There is often a family link too — a parent or relative who had similar experiences in childhood.

A similar phenomenon: confusional arousals

There is another night-time event that can look similar to night terrors, called confusional arousals. Here the waking is usually more gradual; the child seems irritable, confused, cries or moves a lot in bed. An episode can last 5 to 15 minutes, sometimes more. Here too, the child is not truly awake.

When and why do they happen?

Night terrors usually occur about one to two hours after falling asleep, during the deep-sleep stage. They become more likely when a child’s sleep is irregular or insufficient, for example:

• Irregular sleep times
• Lack of sleep or accumulated tiredness
• Illness or fever
• Sleeping in an unfamiliar place
• Stress or emotional change
• Other sleep disorders (such as breathing problems in sleep)
• Certain medications

What can parents do during a night terror?

The most important thing is safety:

• If the child gets up or walks in their sleep, make the environment safe (stair gates, locked windows, a door alarm if needed)
• Do not try to wake the child
• Avoid trying to forcibly calm them
• Stay nearby quietly, and if they get up, gently guide them back to bed

And what helps day to day?

• Keep regular sleep times
• Make sure the child gets enough sleep for their age
• Watch for signs of other sleep problems: snoring, frequent waking, daytime tiredness, irritability or poor concentration
• There is no need to discuss the event with the child in the morning — they won’t remember it

When is it worth seeing a professional?

In most cases no special treatment is needed. However, it is worth seeking professional advice if the night terrors happen very frequently, are very intense, raise a risk of injury, or if there are signs of other sleep problems.