Some parents confuse nightmares with night terrors, but they're actually quite different. So night terrors tend to happen within the first two hours of going to sleep. And what's interesting about night terrors is your child's eyes may be open, and they may be screaming for you. But they are not awake. They are actually still asleep. And they are not dreaming. They are going from non-REM to REM and they got a little tripped. And they woke up and they are usually inconsolable. They can last anywhere from 5-20 minutes, which is very scary to watch in your child, especially because they don't seem to recognize you or know what's going on. And what you need to do when this happens is you need to do as little as possible. Because actually interacting with them, touching them, getting them out can make it last longer. So make sure they're safe and that they're attended to and everything's okay. You probably want to stay with them because it's really hard to leave your child in that state because it's very upsetting to watch until it subsides and they go to sleep. So a lot of parents say, why are they caused or how do I avoid this? The number one cause for a night terror is sleep deprivation, usually going to bed too late. It could happen from traveling, time zone changes, or fevers, developmental milestones, and sleep apnea can all cause night terrors. There's also an increased likelihood for boys over girls. And also if you or the other parent had a history as a child of sleepwalking, then your child's going to be more likely to have night terrors. But the good news is the first thing to do is to start to put your child to bed earlier, even if it's just by 30 minutes. It can make all the difference in the world and they can usually stop having the night terrors altogether.