Night terrors are parasomnias, that is, dissociated states of sleep, which usually appear in children. These phenomena, although spectacular, are often perfectly normal.

They occur at the beginning of the night, 1 to 3 hours after falling asleep, during the phase of deep slow sleep. As a result, the child does not remember the episode of nocturnal terror the next morning.

These manifestations resemble, in a certain way, sleepwalking, and are very clearly distinguished from nightmares. which occur especially at the end of the night, during the paradoxical phase, which explains why the child can partially restore its content.  

Night terrors mainly affect children under 12 years of age with a predominance in boys and in children with psychological difficulties. 

Another study reports a prevalence of about 19% for children aged 4 to 9 years.

In the middle of the night, the child suddenly begins to yell and wake up the whole house. When his parents run up to him, he is sitting in his bed, terrified, eyes wide open, sweaty. Still breathless, he calls for help, utters inconsistent words.

However, the child does not appear to see his parents and does not answer any questions: he is in fact continuing to sleep. Parents, moreover perplexed, often have a much harder time getting back to sleep.

The episodes last from a few seconds à about twenty minutes at most.

How do you tell the difference between night terrors and nightmares?

The nocturnal panics can also resemble night terrors, but do not involve the same stages of sleep, and are followed by noticeable difficulty falling asleep again. The individual experiences a period of panic during which he is completely awake.

The confused awakenings, characterized by complex movements appearing when the child is lying down, can also suggest night terrors, but are never accompanied by typical behaviors of terror. 

Night terrors are developmental manifestations of children aged 3 to 7 and are part of the growth process.

However, there are several risk factors that can precipitate or worsen night terrors:

• La fever
• Acute physical stresses
• THEasthma
• Gastroesophageal reflux
• Sleep deficit
• Certain medications (sedatives, stimulants, antihistamines, etc.)
• Periodic leg movement syndrome during sleep (MPJS)

If night terrors do not repeat themselves too systematically (several times a week for several months), they do not present any danger to the good health of the child. They do not require any particular drug treatment.

1) Identify clearly if it is a night terror or a nightmare.

2) If it’s a night terror, not to try to wake up the child. He would risk being totally confused and could try to adopt a flight reflex.

3) Instead, try to appease him, to speak to him in a soft voice.

4) Do not talk about the episode the next day at the risk of unnecessarily worrying him.

5) Find out if something is bothering him right now without mentioning the episode you witnessed.

6) Reassess his lifestyle and in particular his sleep / wake rhythm. Consider reintroducing naps if you removed them.

7) If the episodes intensify, consider seeing a specialist.

8) If the child presents episodes of terror at regular times, awakenings scheduled 10 to 15 minutes before the schedule decrease the occurrence of symptoms. 

“At night, it’s the essential dive into the universe of our dreams and nightmares: facets of ourselves appear, hidden. Dreams and nightmares give us news of our secret garden and sometimes the monsters we find there suddenly wake us up. Certain nightmares inhabit us and pursue us for a longer or shorter time ”. JB Pontalis