Night terrors and nightmares can look similar from the doorway — a child who seems distressed at night — but they’re different experiences with different causes, and telling them apart changes how you should respond in the moment.
Who This Is For
- Your child sometimes screams, thrashes, or seems terrified during the night but doesn’t fully wake up
- Your child wakes up scared from a bad dream and can describe it
- You’re not sure whether what you’re seeing is a nightmare, a night terror, or something else
- You want to know how to respond in the moment and whether you should be worried
Quick Summary
Nightmares are bad dreams that happen during REM sleep, usually in the second half of the night; the child fully wakes up, is aware of what happened, and can often describe it. Night terrors happen during deep non-REM sleep, usually in the first few hours of the night; the child appears distressed — screaming, sitting up, sweating — but is not actually awake and won’t remember it in the morning. Night terrors are common in children roughly 3 to 12 years old and are generally outgrown; nightmares occur at almost any age and become more common as imagination develops.
Why This Happens
Different sleep stages
Nightmares occur during REM sleep, when the brain is highly active and dreaming happens. Night terrors occur during deep, slow-wave non-REM sleep, when the brain is transitioning between sleep stages incompletely — the body reacts as if waking but consciousness doesn’t fully catch up.
Overtiredness and irregular sleep
Night terrors are more likely when a child is overtired, sleep-deprived, or has an irregular sleep schedule, since this makes the deep-sleep-to-lighter-sleep transition less smooth. An irregular schedule is often tied to inconsistent naps or a recent nap transition, which is worth checking if terrors have increased recently.
Stress, big changes, or scary content
Nightmares are more likely during periods of stress, big life changes (a new sibling, starting school), or after exposure to scary stories, movies, or content that’s more intense than a child can process well before bed.
Fever or illness
Both nightmares and night terrors can increase temporarily during illness or fever, which disrupts normal sleep architecture.
Family history
Night terrors have a genetic component — they’re more common in children whose parents experienced them or sleepwalking as children.
How to Respond
During a night terror: keep them safe, don’t try to wake them
Stay nearby, make sure they can’t hurt themselves, and avoid trying to fully wake them or reason with them, since this can prolong the episode and cause confusion. Night terrors usually end on their own within a few minutes, and the child won’t remember it.
During a nightmare: comfort and reassure
Since the child is genuinely awake and aware, calm reassurance, a brief conversation about the dream, and comfort measures (a nightlight, a favorite object) tend to help them settle back to sleep.
Protect sleep and keep a consistent schedule
Since overtiredness is a major trigger for night terrors, a consistent, adequate sleep schedule is one of the most effective ways to reduce how often they happen.
Limit scary content before bed
For nightmares, reducing exposure to frightening stories, shows, or news close to bedtime, and talking through big changes or worries earlier in the day, can reduce how often they occur.
When to talk to a doctor
Occasional night terrors and nightmares are normal and usually don’t need medical attention. It’s worth checking in with a pediatrician if episodes happen very frequently, involve injury risk, continue well past the age they’d typically resolve, or are accompanied by daytime symptoms like excessive sleepiness.
Common Mistakes
- Trying to fully wake a child during a night terror, which can prolong distress and cause confusion
- Assuming a night terror means something is wrong, when it’s usually a normal, outgrowable sleep-stage transition issue
- Bringing up a nightmare in detail the next morning if the child seems to have moved past it, which can reinforce the fear
- Letting an irregular sleep schedule continue, which increases both nightmares and night terrors
Key Takeaways
Nightmares happen during REM sleep and involve a child who wakes up and remembers the dream; night terrors happen during deep non-REM sleep and involve a child who appears distressed but isn’t actually awake and won’t remember it. Both are usually normal and outgrown with time. The most useful things you can do are keep a consistent, adequate sleep schedule, respond calmly and appropriately to each type, and check in with a pediatrician if episodes are frequent, severe, or unusual.
Related Reading
- Toddler Sleep Regressions: Why They Happen and How Long They Last
- Why Is My Child Afraid of the Dark at Bedtime?
- Recurring Nightmares in Adults: Causes and How to Stop Them
- Why Won’t My Child Sleep Through the Night? Causes and Fixes by Age
About This Article
This article is part of Sleep Fixes, a site focused on practical, easy-to-follow solutions for common sleep problems.
It is not medical advice. If you’re concerned about frequent or severe episodes, talk to your child’s pediatrician.