Night terrors in children and babies

Another goodnight kiss and then it's time for your little explorer to sleep. Surely, you also look forward to a few quiet hours for yourself in the evening. The more excited and worried you become when suddenly a scream comes from the child's room, your child has wide-open eyes but is unresponsive - it's probably a night terror.

Our LILLYDOO expert Heike vom Heede is a graduate social pedagogue and offers sleep consulting for parents at her in Düsseldorf, among other things. In our interview, she explains what night terrors actually are, how to recognize them, and how to distinguish them from a nightmare, and gives you tips on what you can do during a night terror.

What is a night terror?

Liebe Heike, was ist der Nachtschreck und wer ist davon betroffen?

The night terror - in technical language Night terrors called - is a Sleep disorder , which remains a phenomenon to this day. This means that no one knows when or if a night terror will occur in your child, as not every child is affected by it in their lifetime.

Night terrors most commonly occur in toddlers until the age of 2 years around and can reappear repeatedly until the age of 6. However, there are also children who experience night terrors until the age of 9 or who are affected by the sleep disorder as infants.

Und wie äußert sich der Nachtschreck?

A night terror does not announce itself. You put your child to sleep normally and after about 1.5 to 3 hours, it will - in our understanding - wake up. Because it screams, possibly flails with his arms and legs and sometimes it can also be that your child Loud sounds that it gives off, which, however, are mostly difficult or impossible to understand. What worries many parents the most: the child has the Eyes open , but is not looking at you, only into the void. And that's exactly how you can tell that your little explorer is actually still in a Deep sleep phase is only the body awake. At the moment of night terrors, a lot happens in the children's brains and the nervous system works at full speed. However, the children are unresponsive and are in their own world. It can also happen that the night terror in Combination with sleepwalking appears.

Such a night terror can up to 20 minutes last. And the next morning, most children don't even remember having a night terror or sleepwalking. The Night terrors can be a one-time event, occur once a month, or only twice a year - anything is possible, and unfortunately, no prediction can be made, as the cause of this sleep disorder is often not found.

Even if it is not understandable to us what exactly is happening at this moment, one thing is important:

Distinction from the nightmare

Wie können Eltern erkennen, ob das Kind einen Nachtschreck oder Albtraum hat?

Nightmares often occur only in the second half of the night, sometimes even in the first. Unlike night terrors, children experiencing a nightmare have the Eyes mostly closed . They are excited but notice that you are there and need closeness so you can gently help your child out of the nightmare. Often, a trigger is found, usually related to the environment, such as tension or conflict within the family or problems at the daycare. Nightmares should not be permanent, as such fear-inducing dreams are very exhausting. However, there are also children who process even trivial things as nightmares.

To better distinguish which sleep disorder your child has, you can <\/span> Sleep diary create and record here exactly what happened during the night.

Tips for assistance and prevention

Was können Eltern während des Nachtschrecks tun?

Mothers and fathers should keep their child during night terrors continue to accompany and do not wake up . Although the child is so absorbed in their own world that you cannot comfort or distract them, you can simply be there for your little explorer - that already helps. Make sure your child doesn't hurt themselves, and if they sleepwalk, walk quietly behind them and ensure that the front door is locked.

Come to rest yourself as well. Often, night terrors are more frightening for the parents, as it initially looks intense and they worry about their child. Especially when the sleep disturbance occurs for the first time, it is completely normal to feel overwhelmed and helpless, and the situation can really affect you. Try to calm yourself down, take deep breaths, and if you have a partner, it can sometimes help just to be held in their arms.

Gibt es denn etwas, wie sich dem Nachtschreck vorbeugen lässt?

A good and regular Evening routine can help ensure that your child sleeps well and possibly prevent night terrors. The evening ritual should not too much input offer and therefore without music and above all without Television get along. Tell your child beautiful or funny stories to fall asleep instead of exciting ones — especially when nightmares are also a topic. For a good sleep, your little explorer should also have been outside and have experienced moved enough have.

Sometimes, night terrors can be accompanied by the Post-processing of a shock has to do with everyday life. When your child during the Night terrors loudly, maybe you can pick up a hint of what the fright is based on. During the day, it's helpful to pay attention to what your little explorer is afraid of, what they need to process, and what might have been exhausting. With an older child, you can address these things and should offer ways to process the fright together. For example, ask if you should draw out the fright together. Or try an explanation: if your child was frightened by an ambulance siren, you can tell them that ambulances sometimes work quietly, but when they need to go somewhere quickly, they are loud. For older children, books can also be a nice support. These approaches help counteract the fright and assist the brain in coping, so that hopefully nothing more needs to be processed during the night with a night terror. With infants, it's a bit more difficult to process a fright together. You know your baby best and understand which situations might have been stressful, and you will surely find ways to handle it together.

Furthermore, it is important that you yourself do not develop fear of the nights and that night terrors do not become parental terrors. Learn how to handle night terrors and how to calm yourself in the situation. Whether your child is already older, still a toddler, or a baby – they will sense your security when you put them to bed completely unconcerned and are there.

To prevent issues, it is also important that your child hardly feels any tension between you and your partner. Conflicts between should also be avoided – even if this is not always possible. :) After an argument, it is important to talk about it and resolve any disagreements before bedtime, so that each sibling can go to sleep peacefully.

And finally, I would like to ask all parents, in all matters, whether night terrors, sleepwalking, or nightmares, not to tell their child about the night.

Wann sollten sich Eltern Hilfe holen?

Once the night terror regularly comes and your child tired and exhausted during the day then, you should see the pediatrician. Even if your child is aggressive during night terrors and Risk of injury exists, if the sleep disorder needs to be medically clarified. The doctor then decides which further steps are necessary and may refer you to a specialist. Sleep Laboratory . Usually, sleep is monitored for one night here, and then an accurate diagnosis is made. Even if the night in the sleep laboratory might be a bit exhausting, since many sleep worse there, it is reassuring when the diagnosis is only "night terrors" and nothing serious is behind it.

Even if you don't know how to deal with night terrors, you can seek help from professionals to face the night more confidently.

Wie hilfst Du mit Deiner Schlafberatung und -begleitung?

First, I get a complete picture of the family situation: How was the pregnancy, the birth, , when did the night terrors start, how are the mother and/or father doing, and what about siblings. This works very well via video call, but of course, being there in person is even better, and I always look forward to parents trusting me enough to allow me to visit them at home.

In the next step, I then try to give the parents back a sense of security and show them what is going well. Many don't even realize that they are already doing many things correctly, and then it's nice to reinforce their behavior. When the support is back and I notice that the parents have the energy to make a change, we develop together ways for the child to settle down in the evening – sometimes no changes are necessary at all. Mindfully, we also look to see if additional professional expertise is needed and, if not already done, involve the pediatrician. If a sleep expert is recommended, I work together with the parents to find suitable professionals, should the pediatrician not know anyone.

So I accompany the families and am pleased about the trust. My most important concern is that the parents and children can sleep peacefully again.

Thank you very much for this great overview and the valuable tips for parents on the topic of night terrors, dear Heike. We hope we could help you overcome your fear of night terrors, and that you and especially your little explorer will soon have peaceful and restful nights again. You can also find more tips on how to respond correctly to night terrors in our YouTube Video with the LILLYDOO sleep expert Julia.