Night terrors are terrifying. Imagine yourself experiencing an episode of intense physical movements without knowing whether you are awake, asleep, or stuck somewhere in between. Also known as sleep terrors, it is a state that leaves the person wondering how to stop night terrors.
You can’t really stop night terrors. However, you can take measures or even explore some medical interventions to help it. However, many people don’t know about these ways of reducing night terrors. But we have done the research to help you.
Today, we will discuss why night terrors happen, night terrors vs. nightmares, how to comfort someone having night terrors, and how you stop or help with night terrors. Keep reading the article to understand night terrors and their effects on someone better.
Why Night Terrors Occur?
Night terrors can occur due to a multitude of causes. These can mainly be sleep-related, physiological, psychological, and environment-based. Here are the most common triggers for night terrors in adults and kids:
- If you are sleep-deprived or overtired and are still pushing yourself
- Your sleep schedules are all over the place
- You suffer from certain sleep disorders, like obstructive sleep apnea, dysania
- Fever or illness can create a state of confusion, resulting in night terrors
- Antidepressants, caffeine, sedatives, and similar drugs
- Genetic predisposition can also pass down the condition
- Stress and anxiety (emotional overwhelm, life changes, etc.)
- Other conditions like PTSD, migraines, head injuries, etc.
These are just some of the known causes of night terrors. However, there are many more triggers that people don’t even know about.
Difference Between Night Terrors and Nightmares
This short table will help you understand the most obvious differences between night terrors vs. nightmares.
| Feature | Night Terrors | Nightmares |
| Sleep stage | Deep non-REM (slow-wave) sleep | REM sleep |
| Awareness | Person is not fully awake | Person wakes fully |
| Memory of event | Little to none | Clear recall |
| Emotional intensity | Extreme fear, panic | Fear or distress |
| Typical timing | First third of the night | Later in the night |
Night terrors and nightmares are both distressing sleep experiences, but they occur in different stages of sleep and affect the brain in distinct ways.
Sleep terrors arise from deep non-REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, when the brain only partially awakens. During these episodes, fear circuits are highly activated while conscious awareness remains offline. This can result in screaming, rapid heart rate, or intense panic, often without memory of the event the next day.
Nightmares, by contrast, occur during REM sleep, when dreaming is vivid and the brain is more awake. People typically wake fully from nightmares and can recall the storyline, emotions, and imagery clearly.
Understanding this difference is very important because night terrors are less responsive to talk-based processing, while nightmares can often be explored therapeutically through memory, meaning-making, and emotional regulation strategies.
How To Comfort Someone Who Has Just Experienced Night Terrors?
When someone has just experienced night terrors, it’s important to respond with calm and steadiness. During these episodes, the brain is only partially awake, and the person may appear frightened, confused, or unreachable.
What helps in the moment:
- Stay close and ensure their physical safety without restraining them.
- Speak softly using simple, reassuring phrases like “You’re safe” or “I’m here.”
- Avoid shaking or forcing them to wake, as this can increase distress.
As the episode passes and they begin to wake naturally, gentle grounding can help:
- Orient them to the room and the present moment.
- Encourage slow, steady breathing.
- Offer a quiet, comforting presence rather than detailed questions.
Afterward, reassurance matters more than discussion. Because memory of night terrors is often limited, focus on restoring calm and helping them return to rest.
How Do You Stop Night Terrors in Adults?
Night terrors in adults cannot always be fully stopped, because they occur during deep non-REM sleep, when the brain is only partially awake. During these episodes, conscious control is limited. For this reason, treatment focuses on reducing triggers, stabilizing sleep, and managing the nervous system, rather than forcing episodes to stop.
Why Night Terrors Are Hard to Stop Completely?
Now that you know that you can’t really “stop” night terrors, you should understand why that is the case. These terrors arise from incomplete arousal (partial awakening) from slow-wave sleep, meaning fear circuits activate while awareness remains offline.
Because the person is not fully awake, traditional techniques like reassurance, reasoning, or memory processing do not prevent episodes from occurring. This is why night terrors differ from nightmares and often leave little recall afterward.
Understanding this mechanism helps shift the goal from control to prevention and reduction. Hence, the most immediate action that can be taken by someone to help the situation is to move toward prevention and reduction.
Prevention Strategy 1: Stabilize Sleep to Prevent Sudden Arousals
Because night terrors emerge from deep sleep, sleep stability is essential. Helpful steps include:
- Maintaining consistent bed and wake times
- Avoiding sleep deprivation
- Limiting alcohol and heavy meals before bed
- Creating a predictable, calming bedtime routine
A stable sleep pattern reduces abrupt transitions that trigger partial awakenings.
Prevention Strategy 2: Calm the Nervous System During Waking Hours
Night terrors are closely tied to autonomic nervous system activation. When the body carries a high baseline stress, deep sleep becomes more reactive. Practices that support regulation include:
- Mindfulness or slow breathing techniques
- Somatic or body-based therapies
- Stress-reduction strategies during the day
- Trauma-informed psychotherapy when relevant
Lower daytime arousal often leads to quieter nights.
Ultimately, Night Terror Needs Management Over Elimination
While night terrors in adults may not disappear entirely, many people experience fewer, less intense episodes with proper management. By stabilizing sleep, reducing stress, and addressing underlying factors, night terrors often become far less disruptive over time.
Medical Interventions That Can Help with Night Terrors
It’s obvious that if prevention strategies fail in your case of night terrors, you can definitely switch to actual interventions that are medically backed. These can help you address your sleep terrors immediately and handle their progression accordingly. Although you may find the combination of therapeutic and medical approaches is often most effective.
1. Psychotherapy and Therapeutic Approaches (First-Line Treatment)
Therapy is often the most impactful starting point for adults experiencing night terrors, particularly when episodes are linked to stress, trauma, or anxiety.
Trauma-informed psychotherapy helps reduce baseline nervous system activation that can trigger partial arousals during sleep. Approaches that have shown benefit include:
- Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT)
- Psychodynamic and relational therapy, which explore how unresolved emotional material surfaces somatically
- Somatic and body-based therapies, which support autonomic regulation
- Mindfulness-based and compassion-focused therapies, which reduce hyperarousal
- Integration-focused therapies when altered states or dissociation are present
While therapy may not stop night terrors immediately, it often reduces their frequency and intensity over time by calming the systems that drive them. Hence, you can always choose to partner with therapists in Philadelphia and other regions where specially trained professionals can help you address your sleep terrors.
2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Sleep (CBT-I)
CBT-I is a structured, evidence-based treatment that targets behaviors and thought patterns disrupting sleep. It helps by:
- Improving sleep consistency
- Reducing sleep deprivation
- Addressing conditioned arousal around sleep
Because night terrors are more likely when deep sleep is fragmented, CBT-I can significantly lower the risk of episodes by stabilizing sleep architecture.
3. Treatment of Underlying Sleep Disorders
Night terrors may coexist with other sleep conditions that fragment deep sleep, such as:
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Periodic limb movement disorder
- Chronic insomnia
A sleep study may be recommended when night terrors are frequent, severe, or unsafe. Treating the underlying sleep disorder often leads to a marked reduction in night terrors without direct intervention on the episodes themselves.
4. Medication Options (Used Selectively)
Medication is not always necessary, but in certain cases, it can help reduce deep-sleep arousals. Options may include:
- Low-dose benzodiazepines to suppress sudden arousals from slow-wave sleep
- Antidepressants, particularly when anxiety or PTSD is present
- Alpha-adrenergic agents in select trauma-related cases
Medication is typically considered when night terrors are severe, persistent, or pose safety risks, and should be carefully monitored by a qualified clinician.
5. Stress Reduction and Nervous System Regulation
Many don’t know that night terrors are closely tied to autonomic nervous system activation, and interventions that lower overall arousal are medically relevant. These may include:
- Structured relaxation training
- Breath-based regulation practices
- Biofeedback
- Somatic regulation techniques
When baseline stress decreases, deep sleep becomes less reactive, reducing the likelihood of partial awakenings.
6. Scheduled Awakenings (In Specific Cases)
In cases where night terrors occur at predictable times, scheduled awakenings may be used. This involves gently waking the person shortly before the typical episode window, interrupting the sleep cycle enough to prevent incomplete arousal. This method is used selectively and under professional guidance.
7. The Best Treatment May Be A Multimodal, Individualized Approach
No single medical intervention works for everyone. For most adults, the most effective approach combines therapy, sleep stabilization, nervous system regulation, and medical evaluation when needed. While night terrors may not be eliminated entirely, these interventions often make episodes less frequent, less intense, and far less disruptive, supporting safer and more restorative sleep over time.
So You Learned..
Sleep terrors are scary even to adults who experience them once in a while. Not having control over yourself and being stuck in a state of confusion is quite an undertaking. Hence, stopping night terrors is the first thing that jumps to mind for those suffering from them. However, you can’t really “stop” them.
That’s why preventative strategies and medical interventions are put into place to make sure people can cope with night terrors, physically and mentally. But the journey isn’t easy, and often, some people may give up way before they intend to.
Growth thru Change can help you get a hold on your night terrors with integrative therapy. Imagine walking into our office and talking about your “unregistered” night terrors and having these episodes less and less over time.
Our therapists in the Philadelphia office are trained to handle and provide solutions for adults who have suffered enough from night terrors.
If you just want to chat and find the best way to cope with night terrors, let’s talk. Connect with us for a free 15-minute consultation here.
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You spend so much time caring for others. When was the last time you made space for yourself?
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Date: November 14, 2026 | 9 AM–6 PM ET
Location: Martin Healing Sanctuary, Philadelphia
Retreat Fee: $550 (medical evaluation and medication billed separately)
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