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Night terrors and nightmares are different, with night terrors occurring during deep sleep and causing the child to appear awake and distressed, while nightmares occur during REM sleep and are remembered upon waking. Night terrors can be caused by poor sleep, stress, fever, medication, or immature nervous systems, and parents should not try to wake the child during an episode. Nightmares can be caused by stress, trauma, medication, pregnancy, or illness.
The differences between night terrors and nightmares are important to understand. A parent of young children may encounter both from time to time, with the average age of night terrors occurring between 3 and 12 years old. Some children may experience night terrors earlier, while others continue to experience them into their teens. Conversely, nightmares can occur from time to time for all people, and occasionally children have particular difficulty for a short or long period of time with certain frightening nightmares that keep recurring. Night terrors can last much longer than nightmares, with the body remaining active and the child not remembering anything even when he wakes up.
One of the key differences between these nocturnal events is that night terrors scare parents, while nightmares scare children. When children have a night terror, they are still in a deep sleep phase. They may appear awake, screaming, yelling, squirming, getting up and running around, but they are asleep. They usually refuse any offer of help and do not recognize parents or caregivers. The fact that the body remains active and the child seems awake and in deep distress leads many parents to think they can help the child calm the night terrors. This is ineffective, since the baby will not hear the parent and any attempt to fully wake the baby could create further discomfort.
If kids wake up during a night terror, which can last anywhere from a minute to an hour, they won’t remember anything about the event. They usually don’t require comfort and may just seem fuzzy if the parent is present in the middle of the night. In most cases, healthcare professionals recommend that a parent not try to wake children with night terrors, but simply make sure they are safe in their own sleeping space, gently hold them as needed, and eventually let them fall back asleep.
While night terrors and nightmares are both scary, nightmares are the scary dreams that scare children (and many adults, too). Most children really remember their nightmares and can tell others about them if they wake up. Additionally, anyone is more likely to wake up when a nightmare is in progress because these occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and dream recall is more common during light sleep cycles.
When a child rushes to his parents’ bed in the middle of the night with terrible dreams, he really needs comfort and will benefit from it. This is very different from a night terror. No child will inform his parents of a night terror, as he will not remember having one, and if awakened, he could not tell what happened.
These events can also come from different sources. Poor sleep, extreme stress, fever, different types of medications, or simply lack of maturity of the central nervous system can cause night terrors. If these symptoms persist for more than a few weeks, it’s a good idea for parents to see a pediatrician, and if they emerge in adolescents or adults, it’s worth mentioning to a doctor. Nightmares can also occur due to stress, traumatic events (past or present), certain medications, pregnancy – which can produce very lucid dreams – and various types of illnesses, especially if accompanied by fever.
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