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Home › Articles › Sleep Issues › Night Terrors

Night Terrors

When Kids Go Bump in the Night

By Teri Cooper Brown

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  • Child does not remember anything about the event.
  • Will not respond or react if parents try to console.
  • Usually occurs around 1 1/2 hours after bedtime.
  • Becomes agitated or violent if awakened.
  • Can move arms and legs to act out imagined fear.
  • Child is active and out of bed; parents must remove dangerous obstacles.
  • Improves/disappears when sleep cycle matures.
    • Nightmares
    • "Active brain, sleeping body."
    • Child remembers the event.
    • Welcomes parents' loving reassurance.
    • Usually occurs in the middle or latter part of the night.
    • Relieved to be awakened, begins to calm down.
    • Temporary muscle paralysis prevents arm or leg movements.
    • Child is not active and parents do not have to remove dangerous obstacles.
    • May continue throughout the child's life.

    What Causes Night Terrors?

    Doctors are not sure what causes these disorders, but research indicates that they run in families. Most professionals agree that terrors are somehow linked to physical immaturity, which contributes to difficulty progressing through sleep cycles.

    There are several things that may trigger a night terror. Illness, particularly with fever; certain medications; increased stress; and an overactive, extremely busy day have all been suspected of triggering night terrors. In the last 10 years, sleep clinics have seen more and more night terror patients who are overscheduled, stressed out from a week of soccer practice, piano lessons, gymnastic, clubs and other after-school activities.

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