Night terrors
Many children experience night terrors, but most grow out of them. They don't cause any long-term psychological harm. A child having night terrors may scream and thrash around, and may not recognise you if you try to comfort them. This behaviour occurs on waking abruptly from deep, non-dream sleep.
What are night terrors
Night terrors are different from nightmares.
They are common in children aged between three and eight years old.
A child who experiences night terrors may:
- scream, shout and thrash around in extreme panic
- jump out of bed
- have their eyes open, but not be fully awake
The episodes usually occur in the early part of the night, continue for several minutes (up to 15 minutes), and sometimes occur more than once during the night.
Causes of night terrors
Night terrors are more common in children with a family history of night terrors or sleepwalking behaviour.
A night terror attack may be triggered by anything that:
- increases how much deep sleep your child has, such as tiredness, fever or certain types of medication
- makes your child more likely to wake from deep sleep, such as excitement, anxiety, sudden noise or a full bladder
What you should do
If your child is having an episode of night terrors you should:
- stay calm and wait until they calm down
- not intervene or interact with them, unless they're not safe
- not try to wake your child as they may not recognise you and become more agitated if you try to comfort them
Night terrors can be frightening to witness, but don't harm your child.
After the episode has ended, it's safe to wake your child.
If necessary, encourage them to use the toilet before settling them back to sleep.
If your child returns quickly into deep sleep, they may have another episode. Making sure they're fully awake before they go back to sleep can break this cycle.
Your child won't remember the episode the next morning, but it may still help to have a chat to find out if anything is worrying them and triggering the episodes.
Having a relaxing bedtime routine will also help.
Try not to discuss the episodes with your child in a way that worries them as this may increase their anxiety.
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 your child 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 sleep quality.
When to seek help
Most children eventually grow out of night terrors.
Talk to your GP if they're occurring several times a night or most nights.
Your GP will be able to check whether something that's easily treatable is causing the episodes. For example, large tonsils could be causing breathing problems at night and waking your child.
A few children, who have frequent episodes of night terrors, may need referred to a specialist service.
Nightmares
Nightmares are common in children aged three to six years old. Most children grow out of them.
Nightmares occur from dream sleep (REM sleep).
Your child may wake up from the nightmare and, depending on their age, may be able to remember and describe the bad dream to you.
Nightmares usually occur later in the night and cause strong feelings of:
- terror
- fear
- distress
- anxiety
Nightmares in children can be caused by a frightening experience, such as watching a scary film, or by something that's worrying them.
What you should do
Talk to your child to find out whether anything is worrying them that could be triggering their nightmares.
As with night terrors, making sure your child has a relaxing bedtime routine will also help.
Take your child to see your GP if they're having repeated nightmares (a series of nightmares with a recurring theme).
If your child's nightmares are being caused by a stressful past experience, they may need counselling.
Nightmares in adults
Nightmares and night terrors are usually associated with children, but they can sometimes also affect adults.
There are many possible causes of adult nightmares, but they're often linked to:
- stress
- trauma
- an existing mental health condition
They can also occur after taking certain types of medication, such as antidepressants.
Sometimes a condition that affects sleep can be a trigger for night terrors, such as:
Nightmares don't usually cause any physical harm, but they can be disturbing or upsetting. They may also prevent you getting a good night's sleep.
See your GP if you're having regular nightmares that are affecting your sleep and day-to-day life.
If your nightmares are caused by a particular traumatic event, your GP may recommend psychological treatment, such as counselling.
More useful links
The information on this page has been adapted from original content from the NHS website.
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