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By Mayo Clinic staffNight terrors differ from nightmares. Whereas the dreamer of a nightmare wakes up from the dream and remembers details, people with night terrors remain asleep. Children usually don't remember anything about their night terrors in the morning. Adults may recall a dream fragment they had during the night terrors.
Like sleepwalking and nightmares, night terrors are a parasomnia — an undesired occurrence during sleep. Night terrors usually occur during the first third of the sleep period for children. For adults, night terrors can happen anytime during the night.
During a night terror episode, a person might:
- Sit up in bed
- Scream or shout
- Kick and thrash
- Sweat, breathe heavily and have a racing pulse
- Be hard to awaken
- Get out of bed and run around the house (more common in adults)
- Engage in violent behavior (more common in adults)
- Stare wide-eyed
When to see a doctor
Occasional night terrors aren't usually a cause for concern. If your child has night terrors, you can simply mention them at a routine well-child exam.
Consult your doctor if your or your child's night terrors:
- Become more frequent
- Routinely disrupt sleep
- Cause you or your child to fear going to sleep
- Lead to dangerous behavior or injury
- Appear to follow the same pattern each time
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- National sleep disorders research plan. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/sleep/res_plan/section5/section5a.html. Accessed May 27, 2009.
- Stores G. Dramatic parasomnias. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2001;94:173.
- Sleepiness diary. National Sleep Foundation. Accessed June 8, 2009.