While there's no magic over-the-counter trick to get kids to stop having night terrors, there are some things you can do to severely reduce their frequency — and many of them boil down to making small changes in their routines.
Start by adopting a comforting bedtime ritual.
"[Make time for a] bath, snuggling, and reading and follow it each night, making sure that your child has an hour of 'wind-down' that is soothing," says Markham. "There shouldn't be any music, TV, loudness, wildness, or anything particularly arousing, and no food, since digestion seems to be the source of night terrors for some people."
Make sure they're not getting woken up.
"There's some evidence that night terrors result from being awakened during Stage 4 sleep, if there is already a predisposition," explains Markham. "If traffic or TV or telephone noises intrude on their sleep, they could be awakening them. You might want to invest in a white noise machine as a precaution."
If you're still not having any luck, Markham suggests resetting your kid's arousal system. And be warned: this will take a little bit more diligence.
"Gently wake your child 15 minutes before the night terrors usually occur. If you see a pattern, and the night terrors are frequent, it might be worth it. If you do this for three to five days, it will hopefully interrupt the arousal cycle and prevent the night terrors from recurring."
