Nightmare or Night Terror?
Your child wakes up screaming in the night. You are probably wondering - is this a nightmare? Or a night terror? 🤔 Let's go through the differences between the two, so you know what to expect and how best to handle, so both you and your little can get some rest!
Nightmares are bad dreams that wake your child up from sleep, leaving them feeling upset and scared. When your child awakens, they are likely to be lucid, remember the details of the dream and acknowledge your presence when you talk to them. Nightmares occur during REM sleep, in the second half of the night when your child is sleeping lightly and dreaming. They are fairly common between the ages of 2 to 4 years old.
What causes nightmares?
As your child grows and develops, their imaginations also grow! Bad dreams may stem from a story or tv show/movie that your child is processing and trying to understand. Nightmares can also pop up during times of stress or when a child is overtired.
Tips to prevent nightmares:
Avoid any scary content during the day that may be upsetting for your child, and turn off any screens 1-2 hours before bed
Instead, have a consistent bedtime routine to help your child relax and connect with you
Use a dim nightlight if your child says their room is too dark or they are afraid of the dark
Introduce a comfort object if your child doesn’t have one, as having something soft to cuddle can ease their fears
How to help your child after a nightmare:
Offer comfort, hugs and reassurances to help them settle
Try to limit discussion about what happened in the nightmare until the morning and keep things calm, dark and quiet - so it is easier for both of you to return to sleep for the night
Once your child is settled, explain that you will leave their door and your door open, and you are just down the hall if they need you
If your child continues to have nightmares, help them process and work through what is bothering them during the day - when your child is happy and content, ask more questions about their nightmare, draw a picture together about it, etc.
Night terrors are a totally different ball game! They occur during deeper stages of sleep in the first part of the night. Night terrors occur from a disruption in brain waves during sleep. Your child may be screaming, crying, flailing, sweating, have a rapid heartbeat, etc. and does not recognize you when you approach them. This can be really upsetting for parents, understandably so! However, your child is actually asleep, even though they appear very awake and won’t remember it in the morning.
What causes night terrors?
Night terrors are more likely to happen when a child is stressed, going through a big developmental change, and/or is overtired. Sleep apnea and fevers can also trigger night terrors.
How to help with a night terror:
try to remain calm and avoid intervening unless you believe they might hurt themselves
wait a few minutes for the episode to end and once you can see they are waking up and more lucid, soothe them with calm, comforting reassurances
your child will likely return to sleep quickly so keep things quiet and calm
If you or your little one are dealing with sleep disturbances like nightmares or night terrors, I'm here to help!
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Sweet dreams,
Cara
