Night terrors happen when children are only partly aroused or woken from a deep sleep. This means they are not quite awake, but they are not entirely asleep either. 

During a night terror, your child’s brain is asleep, whereas the body's response can look awake and facial expressions can be very emotional. Your child may scream and seem very frightened, usually not recognising the people around them.   

Your child may remember being frightened, but not what the dream was about. They will not usually remember the night terror the next morning. Younger children are more likely to have night terrors and usually outgrow them by the end of primary school age. Like nightmares, there are usually no long-term psychological effects associated.  

Sometimes children will quietly walk during a night terror, this is called partial arousal or, more commonly sleepwalking. See Sleepwalking for more information.

Supporting your child with a night terror

It is best not to try to wake your child as this might prolong the night terror episode. They may try to abscond or push people away.  Gently keep them out of harm’s way where possible until it passes. 

• Set up safe sleeping arrangements, for example, lower set beds to prevent falls
• Remove clutter or obstacles from your child’s bedroom floor
• Secure your home by locking doors and windows in the house
• Secure any stairs by installing an appropriately sized gate at the top or bottom (between your child’s room and the stairs) 

If night terrors happen at the same time every night, you may be able to prevent them by completely waking your child before it happens, for example, by gently shaking their shoulder until they stir. Doing this 15 minutes before the time of a night terror and letting them drift back off to sleep can be effective. 

If they do stop the episodes, after 4 or 5 nights of these scheduled wakings you can stop the waking and see if the night terrors have stopped. In this method doesn't work with your child, ensure your child is sleeping in a safe environment and seek help from your family GP as soon as you can.