Nightmares and night terrors in babies are common. Sometimes, you may wake up hearing your baby’s screams and see them moving and making distressing sounds in their cradle. While they may calm down with reassuring words and your touch, they may continue to be fussy in some cases. Night terrors can be more difficult than nightmares, which you may notice from the symptoms. Nightmares and night terrors can be caused by certain changes in the developing brain or factors such as tiredness or medications. Read on to learn more about nightmares and night terrors in babies and how to deal with them and prevent them.
What Are Nightmares?
Nightmares are vivid bad dreams that occur when a baby is in deep or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep (1), causing the child to wake up scared and nervous. Often, the baby or the toddler can remember the nightmare in detail and may even seem upset the next morning after a nightmare. A toddler may be able to narrate their nightmare to you in the morning, but a baby has no way to communicate it to you. It is not known whether newborns can have nightmares. They spend over 10 hours a day in REM sleep, so it is plausible they could experience rudimentary nightmares. There could be certain probable reasons for a little one to experience scary dreams.
Causes For Nightmares In Babies
Nightmares can be strongly linked to the events that occur during the waking hours of a baby or toddler. Here are some of the key reasons why they may have nightmares. There are other reasons that give babies and toddlers nightmares but lack scientific evidence. It is important for parents to know all the symptoms so that they can spot the occurrence of a nightmare.
Symptoms Of Nightmares In Babies
Nightmares can be easy to spot since your little one is quite likely to immediately alarm you about it. Here are more symptoms that your baby or toddler will show when he has a nightmare:
How To Deal With A Nightmare?
There are ways you can comfort your baby and ensure that he is not afraid of nightmares again. Nightmares can be prevented easily, and we’ll tell you how.
Preventing Nightmares
Nightmares are preventable, and most toddlers eventually understand that they are just bad dreams that go away with the night. But night terrors terrorize even the parents. It is something that is equivalent to seeing a nightmare with their eyes wide awake but during a state of sleep.
What Are Night Terrors?
Night terrors or sleep terrors are episodes of partially waking up from sleep with a sense of fear that may cause the baby or toddler to scream, shout, or cry. The child may even thrash their hands and legs violently in bed and seem oblivious to the people and the environment around them. The baby’s eyes could be wide open, but they will not respond to you even if you stand right in front of them. Babies and toddlers don’t often remember night terrors, which means even if you coaxed your little one to speak about it, they might be clueless.
Differences Between Nightmares And Night Terrors
There are some key differences between nightmares and night terrors:
Nightmares happen during REM sleep usually after several hours of falling asleep. Night terrors happen during Non-REM (NREM) sleep, which is the initial two to three hours of sleep (8).
Nightmares awaken the baby/toddler, and he may seek some comfort from a parent. Night terrors do not awaken the little one, and instead, he stays in a state of semi-sleep with his eyes wide open.
A nightmare episode may last for few seconds to a few minutes whereas night terrors can stretch from 10 to 30 minutes.
During a nightmare, a baby may move limbs but very gently. In a night terror, a baby may move limbs so violently that he risks rolling down from the bed or injuring himself by accidentally hitting something.
A nightmare does not lead to sleepwalking but a night terror can cause a toddler to sleepwalk.
A baby may wake up when coaxed to do so during a nightmare. A baby may not wake up at all during a night terror and even if he does he may be aggressive and disoriented.
After a nightmare, the baby’s sleep is reset, which means he will have trouble falling into a deep sleep for some time. After a night terror, the baby will automatically fall into a state of deep sleep.
Your baby will still remember the complete or a bit of a nightmare in the morning. There is going to be no active cognizance of night terror in the morning.
It is, thus, believed that night terrors are spontaneous events that happen when the body is transitioning from one state of sleep to another (9). While it may seem like a random event, there are some definite underlying reasons for it to happen.
Causes For Night Terrors In Babies/Toddlers
The causes of night terror overlap with that of nightmares. Following are some of the common reasons for the occurrence of nightmares and night terrors:
Experiencing a distressing or scary situation Medication Stress and constant worry Fatigue and tiredness
Along with these, night terrors may also be caused by other reasons that basically disturb the brain’s ability to slip into deep sleep (10): The causes for night terrors are fundamentally similar to nightmares, but the symptoms are definitely different.
Symptoms
Here are some definite symptoms of a night terror: Night terrors can go on for ten to 30 minutes and may also occur multiple times in the night. Often, the baby goes back to sleep, but you may be worried about the next episode. Night terrors can be prevented, and we will give you a few ways to do so.
How To Deal With A Night Terror?
Here is what you must do when the little one is having a sleep terror:
Preventing Night Terrors
Preventing night terrors is similar to preventing nightmares due to their overlapping causes. Here are some ways you could employ to prevent night terrors:
Have a relaxing pre-bedtime routine Acquaint him of the things in the dark Use a dim nightlight
Beyond these ways, there are some additional things you can do to prevent night terrors: Night terrors can be preventable just like nightmares. They occur due to the over-arousal of the toddler’s underdeveloped central nervous system, which itself could be influenced by genetics. These conditions can lead to some other problems in a baby’s life.
Aftermath Of Nightmares And Night Terrors
The baby may experience certain negative consequences of night terrors and nightmares. Here are some of the common occurrences: Nightmares and night terrors may also be an indicator of some underlying medical condition that could have serious repercussions. This is usually manifested by the presence of some symptoms that warrant prompt medical attention.
When To See A Doctor?
If your baby or toddler seems to have chronic bouts of nightmares and night terrors, then it could be an indicator of some major medical problem. You must keep an eye on the following situations during nightmares and night terrors:
Baby or toddler jerks violently or/and stiffens during nightmares or night terrors
The condition interrupts their regular sleep drastically
They seem lost or/and anxious even during the day
They have bad dreams and terrors during daytime naps as well
Their behavior seems awkward, and you sense that it has something to do with his nightmares and night terrors
Medical Problems That May Lead To Nightmares And Night Terrors
These are some medical conditions that are generally manifested through nightmares and night terrors: Nightmares and night terrors can be general indicators of mental health disorders or problems (1). Do note that if a baby/toddler has a nightmare or night terror, it does not mean that he has some neurological issue or is on the path of developing one. You must let a medical practitioner make the inferences.
Treatment Of Nightmares And Night Terrors
While there is no specific treatment for these conditions, a doctor will take a multi-faceted approach towards treating or managing them. Here are some of the steps taken to treat the condition:
