Skip to main content

6 effective remedies for night terrors in toddlers you should try

It’s heartbreaking when your toddler wakes up afraid, so it’s natural for you to wonder what causes night terrors in toddlers. You might even be scrolling around online looking for tips and tricks for how to stop them. While it’s important to consult your pediatrician about your concerns, there are some home remedies for night terrors in toddlers that can help in the meantime.

These six solutions for night terrors in toddlers may give your child (and you) some relief and a good night’s sleep. But before we look at the solutions for stopping night terrors, we have to understand the causes.

What causes night terrors in toddlers?

toddler-girl-in-bed-sleeping
alinsa//123RF

According to the pediatric health system Nemour’s Children’s Health, certain factors tend to contribute to night terrors in kids.

Children who are overtired, sick, or stressed are particularly prone to night terrors. For example, if a child is sleeping away from home (a stressor), not getting enough sleep (overtired), or taking a new medicine (such as a cold medicine if they are sick), that could bring on night terrors. Having caffeine can also cause night terrors, so make sure they aren’t having anything like soda that may contain this stimulant.

There is also a genetic predisposition for night terrors. About 80% of kids who have night terrors have a family member who had also experienced night terrors or sleepwalked.

Night terrors usually happen when a child moves from the deepest stage of non-REM sleep to lighter REM sleep, which is about two to three hours after falling asleep. A night terror is a fear reaction to this transition. Unlike nightmares, night terrors usually happen in the first half of the night, according to Johns Hopkins. Thankfully there are some remedies parents can try to help prevent night terrors.

Get enough sleep

Since being sleep deprived can cause night terrors according to Mayo Clinic, giving your child an earlier bedtime and doing a sleep hygiene check-up is a good first step. Do they have a regular sleep schedule? Do they need a nap during the day? If they are transitioning out of their nap, this may be a temporary nighttime issue that will pass as they become more rested and sleep longer at night. Just make sure their bedtime is earlier to make up for the lost naptime. Be sure their sleep area is quiet, consistent, and comfortable. Enough sleep is key.

Establish a regular bedtime routine

toddler-reading-story
Lina Kivaka/Pexels

Toddlers sometimes are weaned from falling asleep while drinking milk or falling asleep without being cuddled as they were in infancy, and this change in routine can cause night terrors. Night terrors are often temporary, but make sure that the new bedtime routine is consistent and relaxing, no matter what it is. Quiet activities like reading books or even breathing exercises in bed can help calm them down to get ready for restful sleep. If you don’t already have a consistent bedtime routine that is the same every night, it’s time to start.

Mitigate stress

toddler-hair-pulling1

What could be the possible stressors in your child’s life right now? Starting daycare or preschool? Parents starting new jobs or fighting? A new baby in the family? Is a grandparent or pet sick? Talk to them about what is bothering them and reassure them about whatever the issues may be. Find books about the topic and read them together, and if it is a big life change like divorce or death, consider counseling.

Keep a sleep diary

Pregnant woman writing in a notebook
Getty

Look for patterns in which nights your child has night terrors and what happened that day. How many minutes after bedtime does the night terror happen? If it happens every night exactly two hours after bedtime, you may even want to wake them up after 90 minutes to cuddle for a bit so they don’t have the terror and then let them fall back asleep.

Prevent injury

A mother reading her young child a bedtime story.
Getty Images

When a child wakes with a night terror, they may be flailing and could hit objects and get hurt. Keep doors and windows closed and locked so they don’t sleepwalk away and fall. Keep electrical cords out of the way so they don’t trip. Don’t have them up on the top of the bunk bed and make sure anything fragile is far out of reach.

Remain calm and gently soothe them back to sleep

A mom putting her toddler to sleep.
Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock

The best way to deal with a night terror when it happens is just to wait it out. You can cuddle if possible and talk calmly to try to soothe them. The episode will usually stop on its own. Shouting for them to stop to try to snap them out of it will only upset them. Don’t try to wake them, only try to gently soothe them back to sleep.

According to Johns Hopkins, you should contact your child’s healthcare provider if the terrors last longer than 30 minutes, if they are interrupting sleep on a regular basis and if your child does something dangerous during an episode, your child has daytime fears, other symptoms occur with the night terrors, or if you have any other concerns or questions about your child’s night terrors.

Editors' Recommendations

Sarah Prager
Sarah is a writer and mom who lives in Massachusetts. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National…
Feeding toddlers when sick: What to feed a toddler with a fever
If your toddler is sick with a fever, feed them these foods
A parent taking care of a sick child.

Toddlers are typically full of energy and giggles, so it's really difficult for parents when their happy, boisterous, active little ones feel under the weather. Every parent has had to deal with a toddler with a fever, whether it's cold and flu season or they just caught a bug from a playdate.

Although fevers are a pretty common occurrence in toddlers, especially if they're in a day care or preschool setting, they still make your child pretty miserable. So, while you can't make your child's fever magically disappear, there are some foods to give to help your little one feel better and keep that strength up. Here's what to feed a toddler with a fever, as well as some foods that you may want to avoid.

Read more
10 fun rainy day activities for kids you should have in your back pocket when boredom kicks in
Fun and educational activities for kids to beat boredom on rainy days
Child with umbrella

It's a fall weekend. Your kids want entertainment. It’s raining cats and dogs. What’s a desperate parent to do? If you’re like most, you’ve found yourself here, on the internet, trying to find rainy day activities for kids. While there are plenty of suggestions to go around for fall rainy day activities, getting your children on board might be challenging.

Here are 10 fun day activities for rainy fall weekends that you can keep in your back pocket for at least the next few bad weather weekends. 

Read more
Why you and your baby need a car mirror
Can't see your newborn when you're driving? Get a baby car mirror
Mom looking in the back seat

Finding out you're pregnant is such an exciting time. Whether it's your first baby on the way or a new sibling, you're overwhelmed with joy. One of the best things is making those shopping lists for all the things you're going to need for your little one. An item that should definitely be on your list of must-haves is a baby mirror for the car. A baby car mirror will end up being one of the most useful items you'll own as a new or veteran parent.

So what makes a baby mirror for the car so essential? Since your baby's car seat will be rear-facing for a little while, a car mirror allows you to look into your rearview mirror and see your baby's mirror, which is focused on the baby. You can take a quick peek and make sure your little one is resting fine without having to pull the car over and get out to check to on them. Basically, it saves you the dangerous task of looking backward and straining to make sure your pint-size passenger is safe and content or from pulling over onto the side of a roadway.

Read more