One of the most common experiences when sleeping are nightmares, we have all experienced them, and I would dare to say that we do so regularly.
Less common are night terrors; however, I often hear parents say that their children have night terrors ... most of the time, this is usually the result of early diagnoses or misinformation.
For this reason, below, I want to explain what each of these phenomena consists of and present the differences between nightmares and night terrors, concentrating more on the latter. In the end, I will give you a quick guide that allows you to differentiate one from the other.
Night terrors.
Night terrors are parasomnias, defined as "unexpected, inopportune or undesirable phenomena that occur at the beginning of sleep, during sleep or upon awakening" [1].
These consist of short episodes (maximum 20 minutes) in which people present expressions and manifestations of fear as if they were acting out a nightmare. Some of the symptoms are sweating, tachycardia, screaming, among others. You can also think of them as an extreme manifestation of nightmares.
However, unlike these nightmares, during an episode of night terrors, people are asleep, and once they wake up, they have no recollection of the event. Therefore, these episodes are usually more anxiety-inducing for the observer than the one who experiences them.
These events usually occur during deep sleep (N-REM) in the first half of the night and are considered benign, without serious side effects.
In general, these nocturnal disorders are usually rare, with only 15% of children suffering them. Additionally, these fade over time and only 2% of the cases persist into adulthood [2].
Finally, the only recommendations for managing these episodes are:
To ensure that the child/person sleeps in a safe space where the person is not at risk of harm.
To accompany the person until they are calm and back in bed.
Nightmares.
Unlike night terrors, nightmares are "vivid dreams with threatening content that provoke great anguish, fear or terror culminating in a restlessness awakening."
Additionally, and perhaps one of the essential characteristics is that people are aware of them and can recall them easily. Plus, they usually appear at the end of the night (in the early morning).
Although they are pretty unpleasant, nightmares do not usually represent a significant problem for people. However, a specialist should be consulted when the intensity and frequency become problematic for people or children - to the point that they affect their quality of sleep and generate anxiety around it.
Finally, below I present a diagram with the main differences between night terrors and nightmares so that you can easily differentiate one from the other.
I hope this article helps you differentiate night terrors from nightmares. If you have any additional questions please leave them in the comments below.
REFERENCES
[1] - Aguirre, A. (2017). Parasomnias. En Viguera (Eds.), Sueño: Fisiología y Medicina (pp. 440 – 463). Murcia, España.: Viguera.
[2] - Pacheco, D. & Wright, H. (2021). Night Terrors. Recuperado de: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasomnias/night-terrors