Is my child having a nightmare or a night terror?

Nightmares and night terrors are two types of sleep disturbances that can occur in children, but they differ in their characteristics and causes. For the longest time, I thought my son was having nightmares, but he was having night terrors! Once I understood the difference, it helped me realize that there was a reason I was not effective in helping him out because there is not much I could have done (During it, I felt sooo helpless!).

Nightmares are vivid, scary dreams that usually occur during the second half of the night, during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.  They can be caused by various factors such as anxiety, stress, or illness. Children who have nightmares often wake up feeling scared, upset, and sometimes with a clear memory of the dream. They may also have difficulty falling back asleep or resist going back to sleep for fear of having another nightmare. It is super scary for the kiddo.

Night terrors, on the other hand, are episodes of intense fear or panic that occur during deep sleep, usually in the first third of the night. They are more common in younger children, particularly between the ages of 3 and 8 years, and are often related to stress, fatigue, or illness. During a night terror, the child may suddenly sit up in bed, scream, cry, thrash around, or appear to be in a state of confusion or disorientation. My son would be rolling around, kicking and it was hard to watch!  As a parent, you have to make sure your child is safe during them and not try to wake them up. They will wake up on their own. Maybe you have tried to wake them up and it was impossible...that was a night terror, not a nightmare. Unlike nightmares, children who experience night terrors typically do not remember the episode the next day. The parent will remember!

 In summary, while nightmares and night terrors both involve disturbances of sleep, nightmares are vivid, scary dreams that occur during REM sleep, while night terrors are episodes of intense fear or panic that occur during deep sleep, usually in the first third of the night.

 Recently, my son had an increase of night terrors and I could not figure out why. He was having them so vividly. Things we did to help reduce them was to do some physical activity before dinner time, stop screen time at least 3 hours prior to bedtime, and after dinner do a calming activity.

If you need help troubleshooting sleep issues with your little one, baby or toddler, set up a free 15 minute call and let’s see how I can help!

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Photo credit: Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash