How to deal with night terrors in children

Children’s night terrors symptoms and causes

As young children begin to establish their sleep routine and you begin to decide what time is right for them to go to bed, they may experience disturbances in their sleep. This can sometimes cause night terrors. There are many causes of night terrors in children, which include having a fever or being unwell, or being tired and having poor quality sleep.

However, the leading cause would be personality traits. Scientific studies have shown that vulnerability to stress and inadequate coping strategies are two critical predisposing factors for night terrors. 

Many children suffer from night terrors but outgrow them as they get older. An article by Hopkins Medicine details some of the characteristics of night terrors, which are:

• Screaming or crying 

• Thrashing around

• Suddenly waking up

• Fear or terror at night

• Sweating 

• Being confused

• Being unable to recall the night terror

• Difficulty to console during or after

Night terrors vs nightmares

It can be hard to differentiate between night terrors and nightmares; however, there are some key differences between them. The NHS explains that nightmares are a lot easier to recall and happen later on in the night than night terrors, which usually occur early in the night. Nightmares affect people of any age, whereas night terrors are more common and frequent in children. 

How to help your child during episodes of night terrors

Like sleepwalking, there can be many misconceptions or misheld beliefs about how you should and shouldn’t help children with night terrors. It is suggested by Hopkins Medicine that you should use soothing and comforting words, and stay with your child during the night terror so you can help them if necessary (i.e. guide them back to bed if they start walking around). It’s important to stay calm, as it can help your child also calm down. Instead of shaking them awake or talking loudly to them, try and gently guide them back to sleep. 

How to prevent night terrors

As night terrors usually most often occur due to inadequate sleep, it’s important to make sure your child isn’t overly tired, and is getting enough sleep during the night. Try and limit things that can cause disturbances in your child’s sleep, and perhaps establish a pre-bedtime routine to help them wind down before sleeping. This involves taking away screens,  not deviating from any pre-set bed times, and not allowing them to eat or drink anything right before bed as this can cause them to get up in the night. 

Perhaps, the most important thing is to help your children devise coping mechanisms that make them better able to cope with stress and anxiety and control their emotions even during bad dreams. 

In younger children, a daytime nap may be beneficial, especially if they didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Make sure you wake them up after a while to avoid them ruining their sleep at night. If your child suffers from severe night terrors, and there appears to be no way to stop them, they may need therapy or medication.