When kids first start experiencing sleep terrors, it can be just as scary for the parents as it is for kids, largely due to the symptoms.
Though sleep terrors are pretty unpredictable when it comes to figuring out which nights they're going to occur, scientists do know one thing — they usually take place when a child's in Stage 4 of sleep, which is a deep sleep, or when they are transitioning between Stage 4 sleep and REM sleep, which accounts for those times when a bomb could go off and they still wouldn't wake up.
And when it comes to duration, sleep terrors typically last anywhere from a few minutes up to 30 minutes and can occur nightly or less frequently.
Not exactly sure what a night terror looks like IRL? These symptoms are a dead giveaway:
- yelling or screaming during sleep
- bolting straight upright in bed
- appearing agitated
- moving around erratically or violently
- sleepwalking
- feeling confused after being awoken
- being very hard to console after waking up
