If your child wakes up crying or screaming in the night, it could be due to a nightmare or a night terror. But how do you tell the difference?
Nightmares typically happen during REM sleep. Your child can be woken up and calmed down. He may be able to remember what the dream was about. Once he is calm and feels secure, sleep should return pretty quickly.
Night terrors are a bit different. They are more dramatic and typically occur during deep, non-REM sleep. Our daughter, Catherine, had night terrors that always happened 2 to 3 hours after she had fallen asleep. She would scream and thrash around in her bed. Sometimes she would sit up or even try to walk around. Unlike a nightmare, she would have no memory of it the next day.
We made the mistake of trying to wake her up during the first night terror. It’s best to just wait it out. Trying to wake the child can result in him becoming even more disoriented and confused; he may take a really long time to fall back asleep.
I have learned that sleep disturbances are hereditary; about 80% of people who have night terrors have a family member who also experienced them, or was/is a sleepwalker. Catherine not only had the night terrors as a toddler, but began to sleepwalk occasionally as an adolescent.
Does all this have something to do with the child’s personality? Maybe. Catherine is one of our most emotional and sensitive children; it doesn’t surprise me that she would be the one to experience these dramatic and tearful sleep disturbances.
If you are wondering what causes night terrors, these are a few possible triggers:
- Being overly tired
- Change in routine
- Stress or anxiety
Does anyone in your family experience night terrors or nightmares?
My Husband and My self both have Night terrors, it seems that Movement and talking in sleep are the separating factor. My Husband NEVER knows what he was dreaming about! Its terrifying
I wonder if my daughter will have them as an adult, too? Sorry to hear your family is dealing with this, Jessica! Any guesses as to what triggers the night terrors? ~Anne
Our oldest son had night terrors and was a sleep-walker when he was a toddler but thankfully grew out of it by around age 6. We had to put a gate on his door because we were afraid he would fall down the stairs while he was sleep-walking. His youngest brother (4) has now started having night terrors occasionally but it seems his are less frequent. I’m hoping he’ll grow out of them quickly.
Putting up the gate was such a smart idea! We should have done something like that with Catherine. She outgrew them about the same age your son did. It does seem like most children do outgrow them. ~Anne
When our daughter, who is now 11, was a toddler she had night terrors. We also put up a gate at her door for safety’s sake. I am so thankful she outgrew them. They were quite scary.
Very interesting that it is hereditary. My sister was a terrible sleepwalker when we were younger. She would often try to do dangerous things (grabbing scissors, filling the tub, etc.). My poor mom had to be a very light sleeper!
Definitely scary! In fact, I think the first time she woke up screaming in the night I was possibly more terrified than she was. ~Anne
I sleep walked as a child, and have always had incredibly vivid dreams, even as an adult. My two year old son wakes up screaming a few times a night, some times he can be soothed and others he just screams. Those night I feel bad that I can’t do anything for him but listen to him cry himself back to sleep. I wonder if he has both? When he was a baby I would nurse back to sleep. When we stopped that he had a binky, but still would have screaming fits when he wouldn’t take it. Now that we have taken it away I wake with him atleast 1-2 a night for crying, sometimes mostly normal and other times I want to die xD haha life as a momma I always figured.
Sounds like your son might have both. Your story definitely strengthens the argument that it runs in a family. Wow, that’s a lot of waking up for you both, Shana. Hang in there! ~Anne
I have been searching for help for my son and his six-month old who wakes up screaming 2-3 times at night and is hard to console. I am wondering if it could be night terrors at such a young age. She doesn’t seem to do this during the day, so I don’t feel it is stomach pain or teething issues. We would appreciate any thoughts or advice. Thank you for your blog – loved reading it!
Hi Linda, I haven’t heard of night terrors occurring with an infant that you, so it’s likely something else. Is she fully awake? Does she seem to be in pain? At the age of 6 months it could possibly be some separation anxiety that’s occurring in the night while separated (although this would be unlikely if your son’s baby is co-sleeping).
Also, could you tell me how long it’s been going on? If it’s just a few nights, it may very well be an illness like an ear infection. The pain often strikes at night, when a baby is lying down. – Anne Marie