Night terrors are different from nightmares and sleep paralysis, and are experienced during non-REM sleep, rather than during the dreaming episodes of REM sleep. The often occur during the first sleep cycle of about 90 minutes, or if the dreamer has become fully awake in the morning, and then drifted back into sleep again.
The dreamer may appear to be distressed, perhaps shouting and thrashing their arms and legs seemingly uncontrollably. If the dreamer wakes up, they may have a feeling of dread, but if they go back to sleep, they are unlikely to recall the experience when they wake again.
Night terrors are most often triggered by stress, illness, alcohol or lack of quality sleep. Although the best way to avoid night terrors is to avoid any of these triggers, this is not always possible, so it is best to just try and let the feeling of terror pass and fade away. This may be impossible if the terror is experienced deeply, and it can be difficult to remain calm.
To maintain a feeling of calm, it may be useful to have a solid reference object like a pebble or a key beside your bed, so you can touch it to ground yourself back into reality and help dissipate the feeling of terror.
